as in panic
an extremely strong dislike or fear of someone or something
His fear of crowds eventually developed into a phobia.
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Recent Examples of phobia
Watch Cyrus talk about her paper phobia above.
—
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 5 Dec. 2025
Mindshift - Helps teens and young adults gain insight into and basic skills to manage anxiety, including GAD, social anxiety, specific phobias and panic attacks.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
This one’s closer to immersion therapy for phobias around motherhood, mental health, and emotional maelstroms that refuse to tamed or contained.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2025
Althea Soft conducted search engine analysis into the phobia between November 2022 and October 2024.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phobia
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 5 Dec. 2025
Mindshift - Helps teens and young adults gain insight into and basic skills to manage anxiety, including GAD, social anxiety, specific phobias and panic attacks.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
This one’s closer to immersion therapy for phobias around motherhood, mental health, and emotional maelstroms that refuse to tamed or contained.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2025
Althea Soft conducted search engine analysis into the phobia between November 2022 and October 2024.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phobia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phobia
Noun
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His agent, in a panic, called our group’s director.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
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Shortly after the trip, Taylor testified before the City Council on the panic-button pilot, which ran in four city high schools through a purchase order issued by the NYPD for $19,860.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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What first reads like random abuse escalates into a relentless campaign of terror against Mats and his family, as the situation begins to uncover a dark, multi-layered story rooted more than 40 years earlier.—
Emiliano De Pablos,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2026
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But also the pesky ones, like your terror and your existential dread.—
Catherine Mevs,
New Yorker,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The dueling anxieties have been brewing for months.—
Jeran Wittenstein,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026
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Remember that meaning can vary widely from person to person—for example, a dog can mean safety and loyalty to one person or fear and anxiety to another.—
Lisa Wong Macabasco,
Vogue,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
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England lost to the West Indies last time out after surviving a scare in the opening game against Nepal before notching a four-run win.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Feb. 2026
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The stage version promises to dig into those same raw, human themes alongside the supernatural scares.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Knott’s has unveiled its annual Seasons of Fun calendar that includes events dedicated to Peanuts characters, Boysenberry treats, summertime barbecues, Halloween frights and Christmas cheer.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
29 Dec. 2025
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Though Heitor is claimed to be no more harmful than a puppy, there are some moments of fright for Griff who is a little uneasy acting opposite him and at one point panics and tosses him overboard, resulting in Heitor’s gruesome demise.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
23 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Phobia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phobia. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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