Meanings
- rareuncountableThe irrational fear of slime.
"Well, maybe what you've really got is blennophobia — fear of slime," he said.
2002, Kate White, If Looks Could Kill, Warner Books, Inc., →ISBN2 more examples
He approaches with snurffly sounds and a twitching nose, and your blennophobia (fear of slime) kicks in, producing a hurried word of encouragement and a carrot.
2003, Joanne M. Friedman, It's a Horse's Life!: Advice and Observations for the Humans Who Choose to Share It, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 40Oh, they seem to be the picture of contentment, tripping about with their triple-sanitized trowels and weeding forks, but in reality these neatniks are a seething cauldron of aversions. They're beset by blennophobia, the fear of slime, and spend long hours plotting the annihilation of slugs and snails.
2006, Des Kennedy, The Passionate Gardener: Adventures of an Ardent Green Thumb, Greystone Books, →ISBN, page 208
Origin
- Ancient Greekφόβος“fear”
- Ancient Greekβλέννος
- Englishblennophobia
From Ancient Greek βλέννος (blénnos, alternative form of βλέννα "mucus, slime") + -phobia, from Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos, “fear”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
blennophobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blennophobia
“blennophobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blennophobia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “blennophobia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/blennophobia.
Source: blennophobia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.