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
Althea Soft conducted search engine analysis into the phobia between November 2022 and October 2024.
—
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Their findings, published in the journal BMC Oral Health, suggest that the phobia isn’t necessarily tied directly to the dentist’s chair.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 Oct. 2025
Support for political violence was even higher among individuals who harbored multiple hateful phobias, according to his survey of over 9,300 adults.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 17 Sep. 2025
Her phobia grew with her, shaping daily life in subtle but significant ways.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phobia
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Their findings, published in the journal BMC Oral Health, suggest that the phobia isn’t necessarily tied directly to the dentist’s chair.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 Oct. 2025
Support for political violence was even higher among individuals who harbored multiple hateful phobias, according to his survey of over 9,300 adults.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 17 Sep. 2025
Her phobia grew with her, shaping daily life in subtle but significant ways.
—Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phobia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phobia
Noun
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Witnesses described scenes of panic as flames spread rapidly through the basement level before engulfing the upper floor.—
Moná Thomas,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
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Kaitlin spent the first weeks of her newborn son’s life in a panic.—
Lucas Waldron,
ProPublica,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Within the broader terror campaign, the administration is focused on the most vulnerable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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Douglas doesn’t understand why his children are partial to their mother, his ex-wife, who was the source of so much instability and terror.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Somehow, this new sensation emitted an awareness of the magnitude in which skateboarding would warp my life, which only ratcheted up the anxiety of blowing it.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Jan. 2026
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The news this week that an ICE agent had shot and killed a woman in Minnesota heightened his anxiety.—
Andrea Castillo,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors suffered a scare when the 23-year-old forward left Thursday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks due to knee and ankle injuries.—
HECTOR AMEZCUA,
Sacbee.com,
23 Jan. 2026
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Suffering an early scare in freezing conditions by going 1-0 down in under 10 minutes, the Catalans improved their chances of gaining automatic qualification to the knockout phase by beating Slavia Prague 4-2 away on Wednesday night.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
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 1 Feb. 2026.
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