hydrophobia
/ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈfəʊ.bɪ.ə/
"hydrophobia" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hydrophobia” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An aversion to water, as a symptom of rabies; the disease of rabies itself.
Corpus desk
Index EN-hydrophobia · hydrophobia · English
hydrophobia · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hydrophobia |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈfəʊ.bɪ.ə/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “hydrophobia” in English
Rare enough to double-check
hydrophobia is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌhʌɪ.dɹə(ʊ)ˈfəʊ.bɪ.ə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for hydrophobia, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English idroforbia (“hydrophobia”), from Latin hydrophobia, from Ancient Greek ὑδροφοβία (hudrophobía), from ὑδρο- (hudro-), combining form of ῠ̔́δωρ (hŭ́dōr, “water”), + φοβία (phobía, “phobia”). The word is analysable as hydro- + -phobia. The correct English form is hydrophobia, spelled H-Y-D-R-O-P-H-O-B-I-A.
Definition
- 1An aversion to water, as a symptom of rabies; the disease of rabies itself.
- 2A morbid fear of water; aquaphobia.
- 3A lack of affinity for water; the quality of being hydrophobic
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how hydrophobia appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[…] Cato, who ſcorned both death and fortune, could not abide the ſight of a looking glaſſe or of water; overcome with horrour, and quelled with amazement, if by the contagion of a mad dog he had falne into that ſickneſſe which Phiſitians call Hydroforbia, or feare of waters.
Now that I have breathed a little, I am anxious to know your opinion of the nature of that affection in the throat, which deprives a patient of the power of ſwallowing in conſequence of hydrophobia.
Etymology
From Middle English idroforbia (“hydrophobia”), from Latin hydrophobia, from Ancient Greek ὑδροφοβία (hudrophobía), from ὑδρο- (hudro-), combining form of ῠ̔́δωρ (hŭ́dōr, “water”), + φοβία (phobía, “phobia”). The word is analysable as hydro- + -phobia.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.