PHOBIA Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

phobia

noun

Definition of phobia

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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of phobia Festivalgoers should expect petition endeavors aimed at mellowing out Idaho’s legal phobia about marijuana. — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 16 Apr. 2026 His father has many food phobias and drug issues. — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 15 Apr. 2026 In his foundational research, Bandura demonstrated this through a now-famous series of studies involving individuals with severe phobias of snakes. — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2026 This, Wright imagined, was one way Proxi might display its analysis of players’ minds, an aerial map of loves, phobias, triumphs, losses, pets, and near misses plus all the associations connecting them. — Eric Boodman, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for phobia

Recent Examples of Synonyms for phobia

Noun

The rattle of a bride’s gold earring or the rasp of straightener steam through a bride’s hair takes on a panic-inducingly eerie quality thanks to Marie-Clotilde Chery’s chilling sound design.

— Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
Plenkovic has accused his political opponents of fueling panic for political gain.

— Darko Bandic, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of panic

Noun

But times have changed since the days when Wasim and Waqar Younis struck terror into the hearts of opposition lineups with the ferocity of their bowling, or Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq made hay with the bat.

— James Wallace, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
State standards for high school world history classes also suggest discussing 9/11 and the war on terror.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of terror

Noun

Halloween Horror Nights opened Thursday at the theme park where screams of excitement turned to screams of fright.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 4 Sep. 2026
In the movie, a group of teens accidentally release a bunch of monsters from Stine’s book collection, creating complete havoc and plenty of great family-friendly frights.

— Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of fright

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phlegmatic

phobia

phobias

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“Phobia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phobia. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of phobia

noun

Example Sentences

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