phobic
pronunciation
How to pronounce phobic in British English:
UK [ˈfəʊbɪk]
How to pronounce phobic in American English:
US [ˈfoʊbɪk]
-
- Adjective:
- suffering from irrational fears
Word Origin
- phobic (adj.)
- 1888, from phobia + -ic. As a noun from 1968. The Greek adjective was phobetikos "liable to fear."
Example
- 1. Despite these troubles , the socially phobic teens were no more likely than their counterparts to be taking medication .
- 2. Germany forecast thatcher would be phobic about inflation while the euro would prove fatal to the poorer countries because it would " devastate their inefficient economies " .
- 3. I could have forced myself to go along to ballet with the girls and then the library and then the spiders and snakes party , but I 'm a bit phobic when it comes to tarantulas and it was raining and ......
- 4. In exposure therapy , the phobic person puts him or herself in the presence of whatever they fear -- heights , spiders , etc. -- until , through habituation , they lose their fear of that situation or object .