Fear

Two types of fear came up in conversations on the same day – yesterday. Ron Jolly mentioned the service offered by the Mackinac Bridge crew, who will drive a car across the bridge for drivers who are afraid to do it themselves. This is classic gephyrophobia, a fear of bridges.

The second fear to be mentioned yesterday was the fear of needles, mentioned by a young neighbor who will be having his adenoids removed. (Good luck, Jonathon.) The fear of needles is known as aichmophobia, though belonophobia is sometimes used.

This prompted me to browse through the Fear section of my Word Parts Dictionary. Here are a few fears or aversions that I extracted.

• accidents: dystichiphobia
• beards: pogonophobia
• cats: ailurophobia
• dogs: cynophobia
• emotions: thymophobia
• flatulence: physaphobia
• growing old: gerascophobia
• hurricanes: lilapsophobia
• infection: molysmophobia
• jumping: catapedaphobia
• kissing: philemaphobia
• loud noises: ligyrophobia
• mice: muriphobia
• nosebleeds: epistaxiophobia
• old people: gerontophobia
• poetry: metrophobia
• quarrels: rixophobia
• razors: xyrophobia
• snakes: herpetophobia
• tornadoes: lilapsophobia
• ulcers: helcophobia
• vomiting: emetophobia
• wasps: spheksophobia
• x-rays: radiophobia
• yawning: oscitophobia
• zombies: basinecrophobia

Available from McFarland & Co.: Word Parts Dictionary, 2nd edition

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