photophobia

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"photophobia" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“photophobia” 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 May 6, 2026) - Excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to bright light; abnormal fear of light.

Corpus desk

Index EN-photophobia · photophobia · English

photophobia · 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 "P" 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.

Key facts for photophobia
PropertyValue
Headwordphotophobia
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “photophobia” sits in English frequency

photophobia falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

photophobia is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to bright light; abnormal fear of light.".

No misspelling variants are generated for photophobia in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From photo- + -phobia. The correct English form is photophobia, spelled P-H-O-T-O-P-H-O-B-I-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    Excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to bright light; abnormal fear of light.

Etymology

From photo- + -phobia.

This word in other languages

fotofobia(Español)photophobie(Français)

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "photophobia"?
"photophobia" is spelled P-H-O-T-O-P-H-O-B-I-A.
What does "photophobia" mean?
As a noun, "photophobia" means: Excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to bright light; abnormal fear of light.
What is the origin of the word "photophobia"?
From photo- + -phobia. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.
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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list