Does standing on the fifth-floor balcony give you weak knees? Is the mere mention of spiders enough to make you scream? Or maybe you can’t stay in a room without at least one lamp?
Don’t worry, you are not alone; we all have our fears. In fact, scientists state that fear is one of the most human emotions, one that comes from ancient times. Those who claim they fear nothing either don’t want to reveal their weak spots or haven’t discovered what terrifies them yet.
“Phobia” comes from Greek and translates as “fear.” Scientists use this word to name fears of various things – for example, claustrophobia, which is the fear of closed spaces. Phobias can vary significantly between something pretty understandable, like a fear of snakes (ophidiophobia), to something rather weird, let’s say, a fear of long words. You might think the person is making it up the first time you hear about it.
Why would anyone be afraid of words, and what’s so scary about long words specifically? Yet this phenomenon exists, and we should respect other people’s fears. Remember that somebody might not understand why you are afraid of flying. It might sound ironic, but the scientific name for the fear of long words consists of 35 (thirty-five!) letters.
Arachnophobia, or fear of spiders, is probably the most common phobia, alongside fear of snakes, heights, and flying. It is estimated that at least one in three women and one in four men are afraid of spiders. It is difficult to say what the rarest phobias are, but some weird examples include fear of clothing, fear of beards, and fear of work (I think now and then we all have this phobia at least a bit).
There are various reasons why people develop phobias, and scientists are still studying the deeper roots and possible treatments. But if you want to learn all about phobias that sound rather weird, read about them in our article. If you are feeling courageous today, let us know in the comments what your greatest fear is.
#1 Irony’s Favorite Word
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – fear of long words.
#2 Wait, Am I Still Remembered?
Athazagoraphobia – fear of forgetting or being forgotten.
#3 Wait, a phobia for peanut butter?
Arachibutyrophobia – fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one’s mouth.
#4 Fear of fearing? Same energy.
Phobophobia – fear of phobias.
#5 Not your average bedtime fear
Zemmiphobia – fear of the great mole rat.
#6 Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner?
Pentheraphobia – fear of your mother-in-law.
#7 When Worry Gets Creative
Panphobia – fear of everything.
#8 Wish That Ocean Was a Pool
Thalassophobia – fear of the ocean or deep, open water.
#9 Work? Hard pass.
Ergophobia – fear of work.
#10 Nope, Not Sleeping In This Coffin
Taphophobia – fear of being buried alive.
#11 Dinner plans? Hard pass.
Deipnophobia – fear of dinner parties.
#12 Guess Which Number’s Public Enemy No. 1
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia – fear of the number 666.
#13 Honestly, Same Energy
Decidophobia – fear of making decisions.
#14 Who invited the nightmares?
Coulrophobia – fear of clowns.
#15 Family Photo? Hard Pass
Syngenesophobia – fear of relatives.
#16 Commitment Issues, But Make It Science
Gamophobia – fear of marriage/relationships/commitment in general.
#17 Wait, there’s a word for that?
Peladphobia – fear of bald people.
#18 When Your Right Side Gets a Little Too Clingy
Dextrophobia – fear of having objects to your right.
#19 When Winning Feels Scary
Kakorrhaphiophobia – fear of failure.
#20 When superstition hits different
Paraskavedekatriaphobia – fear of Friday the 13th.
#21 Perfectionism just got spooky
Atelophobia – fear of imperfection.
#22 Why Are Belly Buttons Suddenly Suspect?
Omphalophobia – fear of belly buttons.
#23 Forever Alone or Just Scared?
Anuptaphobia – fear of being single.
#24 Banana? Nope, Not Today
Bananaphobia – fear of bananas.
#25 When thinking hurts more than feeling
Ideophobia – fear of reason or ideas.
#26 Who Knew Cheese Could Scare You?
Francophobia – fear of French people and their culture.
#27 Not All Homecomings Are Sweet
Nostophobia – fear of returning home.
#28 Why Are Holes Suddenly Creepy?
Trypophobia – fear of holes.
#29 When good news feels like a plot twist
Euphobia – fear of good news.
#30 When You’re Lowkey Scared to Poop
Coprastasophobia – fear of being constipated.
#31 Dancing? Hard Pass.
Chorophobia – fear of dancing.
#32 Seriously, Who’s Afraid of the Sun?
Heliphobia – fear of sunlight.
#33 Because tests are the real horror story
Didaskaleinophobia – fear of school.
#34 Guess Who’s on Your Fear List?
Papaphobia – fear of The Pope.
#35 When beauty feels threatening
Venustraphobia – fear of beautiful women.
#36 Nope, Not Ready to Witness Reality
Optophobia – fear of opening one’s eyes.
#37 When Sleep Feels Like a Threat
Somniphobia – fear of falling asleep.
#38 Too Many Takes, Too Little Chill
Allodoxaphobia – fear of opinions.
#39 New Stuff, Who Dis?
Neophobia – fear of new things.
#40 Guess Who’s Avoiding Your Close Talk
Halitophobia – fear of bad breath.
#41 When boiling water feels like a boss fight
Mageirocophobia – fear of cooking.
#42 Nope, Not Today Wasp Drama
Spheksophobia – fear of wasps.
#43 Sounds Like My Monday Mood
Thanatophobia – fear of death.
#44 Wait, cotton balls are scary now?
Sidonglobophobia – fear of cotton balls.
#45 When salads start looking scary
Lipophobia – fear of becoming fat.
#46 Never thought knees could be scary
Genuphobia – fear of knees and kneeling.
#47 Because normal nightmares weren’t enough
Kinemortophobia – fear of zombies.
#48 Lefties, Beware Your Own Shadow
Sinistrophobia – fear of things to your left or left-handed people.
#49 Happiness? Hard pass.
Cherophobia – fear of happiness.
#50 England? That’s a vibe.
Anglophobia – fear of England.
#51 Poetry Phobia? Same Here
Metrophobia – fear of poetry.
#52 Purple? Now That’s Specific
Porphyrophobia – fear of the color purple.
#53 Wait, Reading Is Scary Now?
Logophobia – fear of reading (or learning how).
#54 When chairs start looking like enemies
Kathisophobia – fear of sitting down.
#55 When Your Feet Betray You
Ambulophobia – fear of walking.
#56 When Horsing Around Gets Scary
Equinophobia – fear of horses.
#57 Who even came up with this fear?
Pteronophobia – fear of being tickled by feathers.
#58 Plot twist: Fear of being caught pants-down
Gymnophobia – fear of nudity.
#59 Guess who’s afraid of split ends?
Chaetophobia – fear of hair.
#60 Love’s weird little panic attack
Philophobia – fear of love.
#61 Chin Up, But Geniophobia Exists
Geniophobia – fear of chins.
#62 Eight? Yeah, no thanks.
Octophobia – fear of the number eight.
#63 Mirror, Mirror, Nope!
Eisoptrophobia – fear of mirrors
#64 Chopstick Fear? Same Energy
Consecotaleophobia – fear of chopsticks.
#65 When Quiet Feels Like Loud
Phonophobia – fear of sound.
#66 When Pets Become Plot Twists
Zoophobia – fear of all animals.
#67 I Can’t Even Handle That One
Emetophobia – fear of vomiting.
#68 Gravity? Now I’m the scared one
Barophobia – fear of gravity.
#69 Why 13 Freaks Us Out
Triskaidekaphobia – fear of the number 13.
#70 Water You So Scared Of?
Hydrophobia – fear of water.
#71 When Black and White Just Won’t Do
Chromophobia – fear of color.
#72 When Perfectly Lopsided Feels Wrong
Asymmetriphobia – fear of asymmetrical things.
#73 Wait, people *fear* laughing now?
Geliophobia – fear of laughter.
#74 When Shellfish Are Actually the Enemy
Ostraconophobia – fear of shellfish.
#75 Not crossing, just vibing
Agyrophobia – fear of crossing the street.
#76 Garlic Haters Unite?
Alliumphobia – fear of garlic.
#77 Stargazing or Star-Shaking?
Siderophobia – fear of stars.
#78 Because asymmetry is way more relatable
Symmetrophobia – fear of symmetry.
#79 When pups become nope-ups
Cynophobia – fear of dogs.
#80 Wait, yellow’s scary now?
Xanthophobia – fear of yellow.
#81 Okay, this one’s knot normal
Linonophobia – fear of string.
#82 When Plants Become Nightmares
Pteridophobia – fear of ferns.
#83 Why Are Navels Suddenly Suspicious?
Omphalophobia – fear of the navel.
#84 Missing bars, losing sanity
Nomophobia – fear of losing mobile phone service.
#85 Cheese haters, assemble!
Turophobia – fear of cheese.
#86 When Your Wallet Gives You Anxiety
Plutophobia – fear of money.
#87 Wait, How Do You Shower Then?
Ablutophobia – fear of bathing.
#88 When Teens Are Actually Scary
Ephebiphobia – fear of adolescents.
#89 Wardrobe panic, but make it real
Vestiphobia – fear of clothing.
#90 Hands down, that’s a weird one
Chirophobia – fear of hands.
#91 Rain? Hard pass.
Ombrophobia – fear of rain.
#92 Wait, ants actually freak people out?
Myrmecophobia – fear of ants.
#93 When a Breeze Feels Like a Plot Twist
Aerophobia – fear of fresh air or the movement of air—such as drafts or breezes.
#94 Why Are Frogs Suddenly Suspicious?
Ranidaphobia – fear of frogs.
#95 Wait, Why Are You Afraid of Food?
Cibophobia – fear of food.
#96 When Reading Feels Like a Horror Movie
Chloephobia – fear of newspapers.
#97 The Irony Strikes Back
Eleutherophobia – fear of freedom.
#98 Gold? Hard pass.
Aurophobia – fear of gold.
#99 When jealousy turns into a full-on freak-out
Zelophobia – fear of jealousy.
#100 Plot Twist: Cemetery Anxiety?
Coimetrophobia – fear of cemeteries.
#101 When popping feels like a threat
Globophobia – fear of balloons.
#102 Numbers Are Secretly Plotting
Arithmophobia – fear of numbers.
#103 Swallowing Was My Arch-Nemesis
Phagophobia – fear of swallowing.
#104 Cold? Hard pass.
Frigophobia – fear of being cold.
#105 Nope, Not Touching That Puppet
Pupaphobia – fear of puppets.
#106 Thunder? Nope, I’m good.
Brontophobia – fear of thunder.
#107 When Moisture Is Your Frenemy
Xerophobia – fear of dryness.
#108 Not just shy, it’s a whole vibe
Ereuthophobia – fear of blushing/red.
#109 Wait, people fear flutes now?
Aulophobia – fear of flutes.
#110 Wait, afraid of life now?
Biophobia – fear of living things.
#111 When Buttons Turn Into Tiny Terrorists
Koumpounophobia – fear of buttons.
#112 Wait, You’re Afraid of Your Own House?
Oikophobia – fear of home surroundings.
#113 Beard Haters Unite (But Secretly Fear Fuzz)
Pogonophobia – fear of beards.
#114 Books? Hard pass.
Bibliophobia – fear of books.
#115 Plot twist: poultry panic
Alektorophobia – fear of chickens or hens.
#116 Dust? Nope, I’m Out
Amathophobia – fear of dust.
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