Meanings
- uncountableA fear of overwork.
Suddenly, you get a disconcerting attack of ponophobia, the dread of overworking or of pain.
2006, Des Kennedy, The Passionate Gardener: Adventures of an Ardent Green Thumb, Greystone Books - Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group - Vancouver/Toronto/Berkeley, page 2152 more examples
In the meantime, since your editor suffers slightly from ponophobia (fear of work), you can help by sending in your questions and answers, thus keeping "The Exchange" from the dread complaint of kenophobia (fear of emptiness)!
1975 Spring, Nancy E. Gwinn, “The Exchange: What's Your Phobia?”, in RQ, volume 14, number 3Those who are handicapped by ponophobia—a morbid fear of work—should go into some other line of work besides medicine. I have known some physicians who were afflicted with what I like to call acute intermittent ponophobia.
1981, The Pharos of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society - Volume 44, Journal Publication, page 18Synonyms: ergophobia, ergasiophobia
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA fear of overwork.
Origin
- Ancient Greekπόνος“fatigue”
- Englishponophobia
From Ancient Greek πόνος (pónos, “fatigue”) + -phobia.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
ponophobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ponophobia
“ponophobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ponophobia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ponophobia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ponophobia.
Source: ponophobia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.