apiphobia

noun

api·​pho·​bia ˌā-pə-ˈfō-bē-ə 

: intense fear or dislike of bees : melissophobia

There is a reason for my apiphobia. When I was little, I stepped on the wrong barn board and some angry bumblebees sent me to the emergency room …

—Shane Brown

apiphobe

ˈā-pə-ˌfōb 

noun

or apiphobic

ˌā-pə-ˈfō-bik 

plural apiphobes or apiphobics

It is a scene to send the mildest apiphobe into a cold sweat. You step out into your backyard to enjoy the gentle breeze sipping your tea and honey and glance up into your tree, where, to your horror, you see a roiling mass of bees.

—Paul Morse

apiphobic adjective

Class participant Cindy Lindow, 52, of St. Clair Township near Port Huron, is a newbie to beekeeping. She only recently abandoned her apiphobic ways. "I hate bees—I used to," she confessed. "I got stung when I was a kid."

—Christine Rook

Word History

Etymology

Latin apis "bee" + -i- + -phobia — more at apiary

First Known Use

1868, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for apiphobia

• rhizobia
• agoraphobia
• claustrophobia
• homophobia
• hydrophobia
• photophobia
• xenophobia
• phobia