automatonophobia

noun

Fear of humanlike figures, such as mannequins, wax figures, statues, dummies, animatronics, or robots.

OriginAncient Greek φόβος (phóbos) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰógʷos ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰógʷos →
Scrabble 25
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Meanings

nounautomatonophobia (usually uncountable, plural automatonophobias)

plural automatonophobias

  1. uncountableusuallyFear of humanlike figures, such as mannequins, wax figures, statues, dummies, animatronics, or robots.

    The plot involved angel statues that came alive with demonic faces the instant their victims stopped looking at them. Can I say for certain it gave some kid automatonophobia? No, but I’m glad I didn’t see it when I was six.

    2016 March 23, Keith Wagstaff, “Why Do Statues of Humans Terrify Me? An Investigation”, in VICE, archived from the original on 23 Sep 2025

Origin

  1. Englishautomaton
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰógʷos
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pʰógʷos
  4. Ancient Greekφόβος (phóbos)
  5. Englishautomatonophobia

From automaton + -o- + -phobia.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

automatonophobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automatonophobia

MLA

“automatonophobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automatonophobia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “automatonophobia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/automatonophobia.

Source: automatonophobia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.