mageiricophobia

ma·gei·ri·co·pho·bia
M3A1G2E1I1R1I1C3O1P3H4O1B3I1A1
/mæˌd͡ʒaɪɹɪkəˈfoʊbiə/

noun

Fear of cooking, a powerful fear of preparing food.

Scrabble 27

Meanings

nounmageiricophobia (uncountable)

alternative mageirocophobia

  1. uncountableFear of cooking, a powerful fear of preparing food.
    3 more examples

    Our own feeling about thirteen, especially when joined with Friday, has added another to the long list of phobias; treiskaidekaphobia, or "fear of the number thirteen" (some of the other phobias are the well-known claustro-, acro-, and agora-, fear of being closed in, of heights, of open spaces, respectively; less known are ailurophobia, "fear of cats," iatrophobia, "fear of doctors," nucleomitotophobia,^([sic]) "fear of atomic bombs," mageiricophobia, "fear of having to cook," and, recalling FDR, phobophobia, "fear of fear itself.")

    1965, Mario Pei, The Story of Language, page 254

    I was quite excited when I came across "mageiricophobia"—an intense fear of having to cook. Perhaps I wasn't just lazy after all—perhaps I had a phobia! It took no more than a half-minute of reasoning to shoot down that theory. My phobia, if there is one, is not fear but a series of lacks: lack of interest, of enthusiasm, of talent.

    2001, Hazel Josephine Barton, "Could I Have a Few Words with You?", A Wise Choice of Words, p. 355

    Ah, Thanksgiving Day is next week... So Mageiricophobia is ablaze again and I've determined its cause: The mental and physical strain of menu planning and the constant contact with place setting arrangements, pots and pans, slicing, dicing and stuffing turkeys, only to witness food evaporation in mere minutes with a bigger mess to clean up afterwards.

    2007 November 17, “The Cure for 'Mageiricophobia'”, in Northwest Indiana Times

Origin

From Ancient Greek μαγειρική (mageirikḗ, “culinary arts”) + -phobia (“morbid fear of”), equivalent to magirics + -phobia.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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