Recent Examples on the WebLater symptoms include trouble swallowing, fear of water (hydrophobia), paralysis, seizure, coma, and eventual death.—Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press, 8 Sep. 2018 At that point, a person can show symptoms like confusion, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, insomnia, drooling, difficulty swallowing and hydrophobia, fear of water.—Minali Nigam, CNN, 12 June 2019 Over time, symptoms that are more specific to brain dysfunction appear and may include difficulty sleeping, anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, agitation, partial paralysis, difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia, a fear of water.—Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press, 3 July 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hydrophobia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Late Latin, from Greek, from hydr- + -phobia -phobia
: extreme fearfulness of swallowing liquids that is symptomatic of rabies and results from painful spasms of the throat
In classic cases, there is a fear of drinking liquids, or hydrophobia, despite thirst due to spasm of the throat muscles.—Lawrence K. Altman, The New York Times
Rabies victims at first feel a general malaise and restlessness, then grow increasingly agitated with painful spasms of the throat. … Soon they cannot drink, which is why rabies has been called "hydrophobia."—Wayne Biddle, A Field Guide to Germs
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