-phobe
/-foʊb/
"phobe" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“-phobe” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a suffix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Used to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | -phobe |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Suffix |
| IPA | /-foʊb/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “-phobe” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
-phobe is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as asuffix, transcribed /-foʊb/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No misspelling variants are generated for -phobe in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French -phobe, from Latin -phobus, from Attic Greek -φόβος (-phóbos), combining form of φόβος (phóbos), ablaut variant of φέβεσθαι (phébesthai), middle infinitive of φέβομαι (phébomai), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰegʷ. Cognates include Russian бегать (… The correct English form is -phobe, spelled --P-H-O-B-E.
Definition
- 1Used to form nouns denoting a person having a fear of a specific thing.
- 2Used to form nouns denoting a person who hates or dislikes a type of person, thing, etc.
Etymology
From French -phobe, from Latin -phobus, from Attic Greek -φόβος (-phóbos), combining form of φόβος (phóbos), ablaut variant of φέβεσθαι (phébesthai), middle infinitive of φέβομαι (phébomai), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰegʷ. Cognates include Russian бегать (begatʹ, “run, flee”), Slovak bežať (“run”), Polish biec (“run”), Lithuanian bėgti (“run”), Albanian dëboj (“throw out, drive away, expel, banish”). Compare German -phob.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “-phobe”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is --P-H-O-B-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /-foʊb/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.