disposophobia

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noun

Fear or dislike of disposing of items; a tendency to hoard things.

Scrabble 23

Meanings

noundisposophobia (uncountable)
  1. humorousinformaluncountableFear or dislike of disposing of items; a tendency to hoard things.

    Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding or disposophobia) is the selfish acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them)...

    2012, Miriam Neff, Where Do I Go From Here?: Bold Living After Unwanted Change, →ISBN
    3 more examples

    At the extreme end of the clutter spectrum are folks who suffer from what some call disposophobia—fear of disposing. In other words, they hoard. According to one report, nearly a million junkaholics suffer from this psychological, and the proof is in the piles. To help those who suffer from disposophobia, a national support group called Clutterers Anonymous models itself after the twelve-step format of Alcoholics Anonymous.

    2011, Iyna Bort Caruso, Simply Organized: "The all-in-one guide to organizing your home, office, children, and more!", →ISBN

    The fear of throwing things away. Disposophobia, I remembered. A disease immortalized by the legendary Collyer brothers, who'd been found dead in their mess in a Harlem brownstone.

    2013, Julia Heaberlin, Lie Still: A Novel, →ISBN, page 305

    Compulsive hoarding has also been labeled "disposophoia" because the person with this disorder feels a real and palpable fear of throwing or giving away, even if the items are essentially worthless.

    2013, Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction - Your Self-Treatment Guide to Alcohol, Drugs, Eating Disorders, Gambling, Hoarding, Smoking, Sex, and Porn, →ISBN

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

disposophobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disposophobia

MLA

“disposophobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disposophobia. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “disposophobia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disposophobia.

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