Meanings
alternative cainotophobia
- uncountableThe fear of newness and/or of things that are new.
Sounds like a raging case of cainophobia with a large side helping of gnosiophobia.
2002 September 4, maf1029 [username], “Re: Homosexuals have phobias”, in alt.politics.homosexuality (Usenet)2 more examples
It is not by means of a social xenophobia and cainophobia that we shall succeed in junking our sawdust goals but only by a sincere and passionate openness to new experience.
1962, Liberal Education, volume 48, page 518The question to ask is whether this free text fixation is the result of report optimization, inertia, or cainophobia.
2009, Bruce I. Reiner, “The Challenges, Opportunities, and Imperative of Structured Reporting in Medical Imaging”, in Journal of Digital ImagingSynonyms: neophobia
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe fear of newness and/or of things that are new.
Origin
From the Ancient Greek roots καινός (kainós, “new”) or καινότης (kainótēs, “newness”) + -phobia.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cainophobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cainophobia
“cainophobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cainophobia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cainophobia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cainophobia.
Source: cainophobia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.