Meanings
photophobia1
plural photophobias · alternative photophobism
- uncountableusuallymedicineExcessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to bright light; abnormal fear of light.
photophobia2
alternative photophobism
- uncountableAn aversion to or fear of being photographed, the dissemination of personal photographs, or viewing photographs.
Photophobia was the latest affliction of Afghan officialdom—by contagion, probably, from Persia which tries to nip in the bud pictures that show her not yet entirely modern.
1947, Ella K. Maillart, The Cruel Way: Switzerland to Afghanistan in a Ford, 1939, University of Chicago Press, published 2013, →ISBN, page 1522 more examples
Craig Armstrong doesn't want to be photographed. His record company wouldn't like it, he says, and besides he has flu so he looks a little puffy. So "orders" and vanity combine to stop the shoot, due to take place in a trendy bar in Glasgow's West End. The cynic may see alternative reasons for the 39-year-old composer's photophobia, […]
1998 April 2, Barry Didcock, “How to score with Madonna (or U2 or Leonard DiCaprio)”, in The ScotsmanHe concludes that Mapplethorpe blocks racist photophobia by making the nudes whose penises are not visible highly erotic, while using blatantly penis-focused images to force white viewers to recognize that when they see a black man, they see him not just in possession of a large penis, but actually as a penis (Mercer 1991; Fanon 1952/2008).
2013, Douglas Crimp, “'Tell a Story, Save a Life' (Montage 1987-89)”, in Brenda Longfellow, Scott MacKenzie, Thomas Waugh, editors, The Perils of Pedagogy: The Works of John Greyson, McGill-Queen's University Press, →ISBN
Synonyms & antonyms
nounpain in the eye resulting from exposure to bright light (often associated with albinism)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
photophobia · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂os
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰáwos
- Ancient Greekφᾰ́ος (phắos)
- Ancient Greekφῶς (phôs)
- Ancient Greekφωτο- (phōto-)
- Englishphoto-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰógʷos
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰógʷos
- Ancient Greekφόβος (phóbos)
- Englishphotophobia
photophobia · noun
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂os
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰáwos
- Ancient Greekφᾰ́ος (phắos)
- Ancient Greekφῶς (phôs)
- Ancient Greekφωτο- (phōto-)
- Englishphoto-
- Proto-Indo-European*gerbʰ-
- Proto-Hellenic*grə́pʰō
- Ancient Greekγράφω (gráphō)
- Englishphotographclip.
- Englishphoto
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰógʷos
- Proto-Hellenic*pʰógʷos
- Ancient Greekφόβος (phóbos)
- Englishphotophobia
From photo (“photograph”) + -phobia.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian фотофобия, страх от светлина
- фотофобия (fotofobija)excessive sensitivity to light
- страх от светлина (strah ot svetlina)excessive sensitivity to light
Catalan fotofòbia
- fotofòbiaexcessive sensitivity to light
Chinese Cantonese 畏光
- 畏光 (wai³ gwong¹)excessive sensitivity to light
Chinese Mandarin 畏光
- 畏光 (wèiguāng)excessive sensitivity to light
Czech fotofobie
- fotofobieexcessive sensitivity to light
Danish lysskyhed
- lysskyhedexcessive sensitivity to light
Dutch fotofobie
- fotofobieexcessive sensitivity to light
Finnish valonarkuus
- valonarkuusexcessive sensitivity to light
French photophobie
- photophobieexcessive sensitivity to light
German Photophobia
- Photophobiaexcessive sensitivity to light
Greek φωτοφοβία
- φωτοφοβία (fotofovía)excessive sensitivity to light
Hebrew פוטופוביה
- פוטופוביהexcessive sensitivity to light
Italian fotofobia
- fotofobiaexcessive sensitivity to light
Japanese 羞明
- 羞明 (shūmei)excessive sensitivity to light
Korean 수명
- 수명 (sumyeong)excessive sensitivity to light
Latin photophobia
- photophobiaexcessive sensitivity to light
Norwegian lysømfintlighet
- lysømfintlighetexcessive sensitivity to light
Polish światłowstręt
- światłowstrętexcessive sensitivity to light
Portuguese fotofobia
- fotofobiaexcessive sensitivity to light
Russian светобоя́знь, фотофо́бия
- светобоя́знь (svetobojáznʹ)excessive sensitivity to light
- фотофо́бия (fotofóbija)excessive sensitivity to light
Spanish fotofobia
- fotofobiaexcessive sensitivity to light
Swedish fotofobi, ljusskygghet
- fotofobiexcessive sensitivity to light
- ljusskygghetexcessive sensitivity to light
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with photophobia
Cite this entry
photophobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photophobia
“photophobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photophobia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “photophobia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photophobia.
Source: photophobia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.