Meanings
- uncountableAn aversion to or fear of neurology or the nervous system, especially among medical students or professionals intimidated by the complexity of neurological science.
The findings highlight a significant prevalence of neurophobia among both groups, indicating the need for more effective neurology teaching methods.
2016, Ranasinghe, M. T. T. T. et al., “Neurophobia among medical students and non-specialist doctors in Sri Lanka”, in BMC Medical Education, →PMID2 more examples
Students perceive that the neural sciences and clinical neurology are overly complex, and many of these students develop a syndrome that I shall call "neurophobia".
1994, Ralph F. Jozefowicz, MD, “Neurophobia: The Fear of Neurology Among Medical Students”, in Arch Neurol, →DOINeurophobia is a term coined to describe the fear of neurology reported by medical students. It is now increasingly recognised as a barrier to effective neurological education.
2009, Youssef, F. F., “Neurophobia and its implications: evidence from a Caribbean medical school”, in BMC Medical Education, →DOI
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Ancient Greekφόβος“fear”
- Ancient Greekνεῦρον“nerve, sinew”
- Englishneurophobia
Combination of neuro- + -phobia, from Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron, “nerve, sinew”) and Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos, “fear”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
neurophobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neurophobia
“neurophobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neurophobia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “neurophobia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neurophobia.
Source: neurophobia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.