28 Phobias and Their Definitions

Just because you can't pronounce it or don't know what it means doesn't mean you're not suffering from one of these conditions. Here is our list of 28 phobias and their definitions.

1. Ablutophobia: Fear of washing or bathing

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2. Acrophobia: Fear of heights

3. Agoraphobia: Fear of open spaces, crowds, or leaving a safe place

4. Ailu­rophobia: Fear of cats

5. Alektorophobia: Fear of chickens

6. Anthropophobia: Fear of people

7. Anuptaphobia: Fear of staying single

8. Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders

9. Atychiphobia: Fear of failure

10. Autophobia: Fear of oneself or of being alone

11. Aviophobia: Fear of flying

12. Caligynephobia: Fear of beautiful women

13. Coulrophobia: Fear of clowns

14. Cynophobia: Fear of dogs

15. Gamophobia: Fear of marriage

16. Ichthyophobia: Fear of fish

17. Melanophobia: Fear of the color black

18. Mysophobia: Fear of germs or dirt

19. Nyctophobia: Fear of the dark or of night

20. Ophidiophobia/Herpetophobia: Fear of snakes

21. Ornithophobia: Fear of birds

22. Phasmophobia/Spectrophobia: Fear of ghosts

23. Philophobia: Fear of being in love

24. Photophobia: Fear of light

25. Pupaphobia: Fear of puppets

26. Pyrophobia: Fear of fire

27. Thanatophobia or Thantophobia: Fear of death or dying

28. Xanthophobia: Fear of the color yellow

For more interesting lists, see:

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Helen Davies, Marjorie Dorfman, Mary Fons, Deborah Hawkins, Martin Hintz, Linnea Lundgren, David Priess, Julia Clark Robinson, Paul Seaburn, Heidi Stevens, and Steve Theunissen

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