-phobe

The combining form -phobe is used like a suffix to indicate the personal noun form of words that use the form -phobia, meaning “fear.” The form -phobe roughly means “someone with a fear.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in psychology and biology.

The form -phobe comes from Greek phóbos, meaning “fear” or “panic.” The Latin translation is timor, “fear,” which is the source of words such as timid and timorous.

What are variants of –phobe?

A less common variant of -phobe is -phobiac, as in agoraphobiac.

The form -phobe is also related to two other combining forms: -phobia and -phobic. Want to know more? Check out our Words that Use articles for each form.

An example of a scientific term that features -phobe is hydrophobe, “a hydrophobic, or water-repelling, substance.”

The hydro- part of the word likely looks familiar; it means “water,” from Greek hýdōr. The -phobe part of the term means “someone with a fear,” and hydrophobe literally translates to “water-fearer.”

What are some words that use the combining form –phobe?

• aelurophobe
• arachnophobe
• germaphobe
• homophobe
• technophobe
• xenophobe

What are some other forms that -phobe may be commonly confused with?

• -phone
• -phony
• -phore

The combining form xeno- means “alien” or “strange.” With this in mind, what does xenophobe mean?