Meanings
plural -phobes
- Used to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing.
claustrophobe
1 more example
Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles”[…]aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks.
2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 11 Jan 2025, page 76 - Used to form nouns denoting a person who hates or dislikes a type of person, thing, etc.
homophobe
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰógʷos
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰógʷos
- Ancient Greekφόβος (phóbos)
- English-phobe
From French -phobe, from Latin -phobus, from Attic Greek -φόβος (-phóbos), combining form of φόβος (phóbos), ablaut variant of φέβεσθαι (phébesthai), middle infinitive of φέβομαι (phébomai), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰegʷ-. Cognates include Russian бегать (begatʹ, “run, flee”), Slovak bežať (“run”), Polish biec (“run”), Lithuanian bėgti (“run”), Albanian dëboj (“throw out, drive away, expel, banish”). Compare German -phob.
More words from French, Latin, grc-att
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian -фоб, -фоб
- -фоб (-fob)used to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -фоб (-fob)used to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Catalan -fob, -fob
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Danish -fob, -fob
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Finnish -fobi, -fobi
- -fobiused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -fobiused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
German -fob, -fob
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Hungarian -fób, -iszonyban szenvedő
- -fóbused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -iszonyban szenvedőused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -fóbused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
- -ellenesused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
- -gyűlölőused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Italian -fobo, -fobo
- -foboused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -foboused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Polish -fob, -fob
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Slovak -fób, -fóbka
- -fóbused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
- -fóbkaused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Spanish -fobo, -fobo
- -foboused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -foboused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Swedish -fob, -fob
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing
- -fobused to form nouns denoting a person who hates or despises a specific thing
Cite this entry
-phobe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-phobe
“-phobe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-phobe. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-phobe,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-phobe.
Source: -phobe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.