phobia
-pho·bia/ˈfoʊ.bi.ə/noun
phobia is spelled P-H-O-B-I-A: 6 letters and 2 syllables (-pho·bia). It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, phobia means “An irrational, abnormal, or obsessive fear (of something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of phobia is phobias or phobiae.
How many letters and syllables are in phobia?
| Letters | 6: P-H-O-B-I-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: -pho·bia |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is phobia?
Phobia appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce phobia?
- UK /ˈfəʊ.bi.ə/
- US /ˈfoʊ.bi.ə/
Phobia has 2 syllables, split -pho·bia in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-phobia.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of phobia
- phobias plural
- phobiae plural
- phobiæ plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does phobia mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An irrational, abnormal, or obsessive fear (of something).
I know someone with a strange phobia of ladders.
- 2
An aversion or dislike (of something).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Phobia in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | -phobie , phobie |
| German | -phobie , Phobie , -hass, -feindlichkeit |
| Portuguese | -fobia , fobia |
| Spanish | -fobia , fobia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does phobia come from?
First attested in c. 1790, from words ending in -phobia, ultimately from Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos, “fear”). Compare ism, from -ism, itis, from -itis, and ana, from -ana.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).