myrmecophobia

M3Y4R1M3E1C3O1P3H4O1B3I1A1

noun

The fear of ants.

Scrabble 29
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Meanings

nounmyrmecophobia (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe fear of ants.

    Possibly it was fear of ants, which by the way, is myrmecophobia.

    2007, Claire Cook, Life's a Beach, Hyperion, →ISBN, page 134
    2 more examples

    Ants are a special kind of bug. I think they are easily squashed by the foot; I'm sure I've unintentionally squashed a number of them with my feet in my adult life, and when I was a young child I believe I used to squash an occasional ant either for sport or more likely as a reaction to some feeling of myrmecophobia.

    2001 January 30, R Fontana, “Re: nat”, in alt.usage.english (Usenet)

    My wife suffers from myrmecophobia. I've spread enough toxic substances to turn our property into a superfund site.

    2011 July 9, Max, “Re: Reviews On Roadtrek Motorhomes?”, in rec.outdoors.rv-travel (Usenet)

Origin

From myrmeco- + -phobia.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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