-phobia

-phobia

suff.

An intense fear of or aversion to a specified thing: xenophobia.

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[Late Latin, from Greek -phobiā, from phobos, fear; see bheg^w- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

-phobia

n combining form

indicating an extreme abnormal fear of or aversion to: acrophobia; claustrophobia.

[via Latin from Greek, from phobos fear]

-phobic adj combining form

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pho•bi•a

(ˈfoʊ bi ə)

n., pl. -bi•as.

a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it.

[1780–90; extracted from nouns ending in -phobia]

-phobia

a combining form meaning “dread of,” “phobic aversion toward,” “unreasonable antipathy toward” a given object: agoraphobia; xenophobia.

[< Latin < Greek, =-phob(os) -phobe + -ia -ia]

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