as in afraid
of, relating to, or having an extremely strong fear or dislike of someone or something
She is phobic about heights.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of phobic
The emails included instructions for editing email signatures to assist tech-phobic workers.
—
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2025
Can the commitment-phobic Marta fall in love?
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
The author has become controversial due to what her critics describe as phobic and abusive anti-transgender views.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 20 Jan. 2025
Some research suggests that being exposed to another person's phobic response can teach you to internalize that fear, as well.2
Not all people who develop somniphobia have risk factors for a phobia.
—Sherri Gordon, Health, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for phobic
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2025
Can the commitment-phobic Marta fall in love?
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
The author has become controversial due to what her critics describe as phobic and abusive anti-transgender views.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 20 Jan. 2025
Some research suggests that being exposed to another person's phobic response can teach you to internalize that fear, as well.2
Not all people who develop somniphobia have risk factors for a phobia.
—Sherri Gordon, Health, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for phobic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phobic
Adjective
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Ridge Vineyards is rooted in tradition but not afraid to change with the times.—
Laura Ness,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
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The main character, Holly, belongs to a group of people — or perhaps a generation — afraid that life is always happening somewhere else.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
9 June 2026
Adjective
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Is this person happy, sad, scared?—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
8 June 2026
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The clinic struggled to keep staff during the epidemic and the nurse was too scared to run it by herself, Dunn said.—
Imani Cruzen,
Twin Cities,
7 June 2026
Adjective
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An Orange County man downed 2 quarts of Jack Daniel’s before firing a gun multiple times inside his Laguna Niguel home, forcing terrified relatives to flee.—
Seamus Bozeman
Follow,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
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Social media video showed dozens of terrified elementary schoolchildren crouching down outdoors as the ground beneath them swayed violently in the province of Davao Occidental.—
Kathleen Magramo,
CNN Money,
8 June 2026
Adjective
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Kyoto, Japan — Nancy Higginbotham wasn’t worried when her 20-year-old son got on a train by himself during their family vacation in Japan.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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Farmers are now worried the beef industry could be on the fritz for a while.—
Justin Klawans,
TheWeek,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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David Fine as Scorpius does an enormous amount of heavy lifting by injecting urgency and pathos, despite his character’s timid personality.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
4 June 2026
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Chances of Musk becoming the world’s first trillionaire were timid when the markets first opened on Kalshi.—
Ananya Chetia,
CNBC,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phobic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phobic. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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