Medical Disclaimer
This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you are experiencing mental health issues, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Most people have something that makes their skin crawl. Spiders, deep water, a dentist's drill, a clown at a birthday party. Usually it's a passing shiver. But for some people, the fear is so intense that they'll take the stairs up 14 floors to avoid an elevator, or skip a family vacation because it means getting on a plane.
This page is a practical list of phobias: more than 130 phobia names and meanings, grouped by type so you can actually find what you're looking for. Before the tables, you'll get a plain-language explanation of what a phobia is and how doctors classify them. After them, you'll find what separates an ordinary fear from a phobia and which treatments work best (the news there is genuinely good).
A phobia is an intense, persistent fear of a particular object, situation or activity that is out of proportion to any real danger. Cleveland Clinic describes a phobia as fear or anxiety so severe that it consistently and overwhelmingly disrupts your life. People with phobias usually know their fear is bigger than it "should" be, but knowing that doesn't make the fear go away.
When someone with a phobia meets their trigger, or even thinks about it, their body can react with a pounding heart, sweating, shaking, nausea, shortness of breath or a sense of panic. Over time, avoidance becomes the main way of coping, and that avoidance can quietly shrink a person's life.
In the DSM-5, the manual clinicians use to diagnose mental health conditions, most of the phobias on this list fall under a single diagnosis: specific phobia. In simple terms, a specific phobia means:
The DSM-5 groups specific phobias into five types, and we've used these types of phobias to organize the tables below:
Specific phobias are some of the most common phobias and anxiety problems of all. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 9.1% of U.S. adults had a specific phobia in the past year, and about 12.5% experience one at some point in their lives. They're more common in women than in men.
Two well-known types of phobias are diagnosed separately because they tend to affect life more broadly. The NHS calls these "complex phobias", as opposed to simple or specific ones.
Most phobia names are built from Greek or Latin roots plus "-phobia," from the Greek word for fear. Some, like claustrophobia and arachnophobia, are in everyday use. Many others were coined for word lists and are rarely used by doctors, who usually just say "specific phobia, animal type (spiders)." A phobia doesn't need a fancy name to be real, and having a name doesn't make something a diagnosis. The names on this list of phobias are real terms in use, but how often you'll hear them varies a lot.
Before the full list of phobias, here are the fears that come up most often, a kind of short phobia list of the usual suspects. The MSD Manual lists animals, heights, thunderstorms and flying among the most frequent specific phobias, and social anxiety is also very common.
The tables in this list of phobias are grouped by category and sorted alphabetically within each one. Where a fear has more than one name in common use, the alternatives are shown in brackets.
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Ailurophobia | Cats |
| Alektorophobia | Chickens |
| Apiphobia (melissophobia) | Bees |
| Arachnophobia | Spiders |
| Batrachophobia | Frogs and other amphibians |
| Chiroptophobia | Bats |
| Cynophobia | Dogs |
| Entomophobia | Insects |
| Equinophobia (hippophobia) | Horses |
| Herpetophobia | Reptiles |
| Ichthyophobia | Fish |
| Lepidopterophobia | Butterflies and moths |
| Musophobia | Mice and rats |
| Myrmecophobia | Ants |
| Ophidiophobia | Snakes |
| Ornithophobia | Birds |
| Scoleciphobia | Worms |
| Selachophobia | Sharks |
| Spheksophobia | Wasps |
| Zoophobia | Animals in general |
Animal phobias often start in childhood. Some follow a frightening experience, like being bitten by a dog, while others seem to be learned by watching a parent react with fear.
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Acrophobia | Heights |
| Anemophobia | Wind |
| Antlophobia | Floods |
| Aquaphobia | Water |
| Astraphobia (astrapophobia) | Thunder and lightning |
| Bathophobia | Depths |
| Brontophobia | Thunder |
| Chionophobia | Snow |
| Cymophobia | Waves |
| Heliophobia | Sunlight |
| Hylophobia | Forests |
| Lilapsophobia | Tornadoes and hurricanes |
| Ombrophobia | Rain |
| Potamophobia | Rivers or running water |
| Seismophobia | Earthquakes |
| Selenophobia | The moon |
| Siderophobia | Stars |
| Thalassophobia | The ocean or deep, open water |
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Aichmophobia | Sharp or pointed objects, such as needles and knives |
| Algophobia | Pain |
| Dentophobia (odontophobia) | Dentists and dental treatment |
| Hemophobia (hematophobia) | Blood |
| Iatrophobia | Doctors |
| Nosocomephobia | Hospitals |
| Pharmacophobia | Taking medication |
| Tomophobia | Surgery and medical procedures |
| Traumatophobia | Injury |
| Trypanophobia | Needles and injections |
| Vaccinophobia | Vaccines |
This group behaves differently from other phobias. Instead of just a racing heart, many people with blood or needle phobias experience a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure that can make them faint. The MSD Manual links some needle fears to this exaggerated vasovagal reflex. A therapist may teach a technique called applied tension, which involves tensing the large muscles to keep blood pressure up.
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Aerophobia (aviophobia) | Flying |
| Agyrophobia | Crossing streets |
| Amaxophobia | Driving or riding in a vehicle |
| Basophobia | Falling |
| Claustrophobia | Enclosed or confined spaces |
| Cleithrophobia | Being trapped |
| Climacophobia | Stairs or climbing |
| Dystychiphobia | Accidents |
| Gephyrophobia | Bridges |
| Hodophobia | Road travel |
| Kenophobia | Empty spaces |
| Nyctophobia (achluophobia, lygophobia) | The dark |
| Ochlophobia (demophobia, enochlophobia) | Crowds |
| Siderodromophobia | Trains or train travel |
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Ablutophobia | Bathing or washing |
| Carcinophobia (cancerophobia) | Cancer |
| Cardiophobia | Heart attacks or heart disease |
| Chaetophobia | Hair |
| Dermatophobia | Skin disease or skin damage |
| Emetophobia | Vomiting |
| Gerascophobia | Growing old |
| Mysophobia (germophobia) | Germs, dirt or contamination |
| Necrophobia | Dead bodies or dead things |
| Nosophobia | Catching a disease |
| Obesophobia | Gaining weight |
| Pnigophobia | Choking |
| Somniphobia (hypnophobia) | Sleep |
| Thanatophobia | Death or dying |
| Tokophobia | Pregnancy or childbirth |
Some of these overlap with other conditions. A strong fear of germs can be part of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and a constant fear of having a serious illness may point to health anxiety. A doctor or therapist can help work out which description fits best, since that affects treatment.
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Androphobia | Men |
| Anthropophobia | People |
| Atelophobia | Imperfection or not being good enough |
| Athazagoraphobia | Being forgotten or ignored |
| Atychiphobia | Failure |
| Autophobia (monophobia, isolophobia) | Being alone |
| Catagelophobia (gelotophobia) | Being laughed at or ridiculed |
| Decidophobia | Making decisions |
| Didaskaleinophobia (scolionophobia) | Going to school |
| Ergophobia | Work or the workplace |
| Erythrophobia | Blushing |
| Gamophobia | Marriage or commitment |
| Genophobia | Sex or sexual intimacy |
| Glossophobia | Public speaking |
| Gymnophobia | Nudity |
| Gynophobia | Women |
| Haphephobia | Being touched |
| Philophobia | Falling in love |
| Scopophobia | Being stared at |
| Xenophobia | Strangers or foreigners (today used mostly to mean prejudice) |
Many of these are less about a single trigger and more about fear of judgment, rejection or vulnerability. Fears like glossophobia and erythrophobia often sit inside social anxiety disorder rather than standing alone.
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Anthophobia | Flowers |
| Automatonophobia | Human-like figures, such as mannequins, wax figures or robots |
| Botanophobia | Plants |
| Cibophobia (sitophobia) | Food or eating |
| Coulrophobia | Clowns |
| Dendrophobia | Trees |
| Eisoptrophobia | Mirrors or seeing your reflection |
| Globophobia | Balloons |
| Lachanophobia | Vegetables |
| Ligyrophobia (phonophobia) | Loud noises |
| Mageirocophobia | Cooking |
| Mycophobia | Mushrooms |
| Papyrophobia | Paper |
| Pediophobia | Dolls |
| Phasmophobia | Ghosts |
| Pyrophobia | Fire |
| Technophobia | Technology |
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Arithmophobia (numerophobia) | Numbers or math |
| Bibliophobia | Books |
| Cherophobia | Happiness |
| Chrometophobia | Money |
| Chronophobia | Time or the passing of time |
| Logophobia | Words |
| Metathesiophobia | Change |
| Neophobia | New things or experiences |
| Phobophobia | Fear itself, or of developing a phobia |
| Plutophobia | Wealth |
| Samhainophobia | Halloween |
| Sophophobia | Learning |
| Tetraphobia | The number 4 |
| Triskaidekaphobia | The number 13 |
Chronophobia, the fear of time passing, is thought to be uncommon in its full clinical form, but a milder worry about time running out is very common. Our guide to time anxiety covers that everyday version.
Some phobia names sound made up, and a few were coined partly in fun. Still, the fears behind many of them are real for the people who have them.
| Phobia | Fear of |
|---|---|
| Arachibutyrophobia | Peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth (a tongue-in-cheek term) |
| Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (sesquipedalophobia) | Long words (the long version is a joke coinage) |
| Koumpounophobia | Buttons |
| Nomophobia | Being without your mobile phone (an informal, modern term) |
| Omphalophobia | Belly buttons |
| Paraskevidekatriaphobia | Friday the 13th |
| Pogonophobia | Beards |
| Teratophobia | Monsters, or people with visible differences |
| Trypophobia | Clusters of small holes, such as in lotus seed pods or honeycomb |
Trypophobia is a good example of how popular terms and medical diagnoses differ. Many people report discomfort or disgust when they see clusters of holes, and researchers have studied the reaction, but trypophobia isn't listed as its own condition in the DSM-5. If it causes real distress, a clinician would usually assess it as a specific phobia of the "other" type.
Plenty of people dislike spiders or get nervous before a flight without having a phobia. The difference lies in how intense the fear is and how much it controls your choices.
| Ordinary fear | Phobia |
|---|---|
| Uncomfortable, but manageable | Overwhelming, sometimes leading to panic |
| Roughly matches the real risk | Far bigger than the actual danger |
| Doesn't stop you doing things you want or need to do | Leads you to avoid places, jobs, travel or medical care |
| Fades when the trigger is gone | Anticipation alone can cause days of worry |
| Comes and goes | Persists for months or years |
Imagine two people who both dislike dogs. One feels tense when a big dog runs past in the park but keeps walking. The other has stopped visiting friends who own dogs, crosses the street at the sight of a leash and avoids parks altogether. The second person's fear has started to shape their life, which is the hallmark of a phobia.
Avoidance is the engine that keeps a phobia going. Every time you avoid the trigger, you feel instant relief, and your brain learns that avoiding it kept you safe. That makes the fear stronger next time. We explain this loop in more detail in our guide to the anxiety cycle.
There's usually no single cause. Common contributors include:
Many phobias begin in childhood or adolescence, but they can start at any age.
Here's the encouraging part: phobias are among the most treatable anxiety problems.
Exposure therapy is the leading treatment for specific phobias. With a trained therapist, you face your fear gradually and safely, starting with something manageable and building up step by step. For someone afraid of spiders, that might mean looking at a cartoon spider, then a photo, then a real spider in a closed jar across the room, and so on. Each step teaches your brain that the fear peaks and then fades, and that you can cope.
According to the MSD Manual, exposure therapy is effective for about 85% of people with specific phobias, and even a single, longer session can bring significant benefit. Some therapists offer "one-session treatment," a structured approach that packs exposure into a few hours. Virtual reality exposure is also increasingly used for fears like flying and heights.
CBT usually includes exposure, plus work on the thoughts that fuel the fear, such as "If I get on that plane, I'll lose control." The NHS lists talking therapies like CBT among the main treatments for phobias and notes that in England you can refer yourself to NHS talking therapies without seeing a GP first.
Medication isn't usually the main treatment for specific phobias, but it can play a role. A doctor may sometimes prescribe something for short-term use, for example before a necessary flight or dental procedure, or treat a related condition such as social anxiety, panic disorder or depression. Decisions about medication should always be made with a doctor.
If your fear involves fainting at the sight of blood or needles, or if it's severe, it's best to work with a professional rather than attempt exposure alone.
Consider talking to a doctor or mental health professional if your fear:
This article is for general information and isn't a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. A clinician can help work out whether your fear is a specific phobia, part of another condition such as social anxiety, panic disorder or OCD, or something else, and recommend the right treatment.
Animal phobias, especially fears of spiders, snakes and dogs, are among the most common specific phobias, along with fears of heights, storms, flying and enclosed spaces. Social anxiety disorder is also very common. Exact rankings vary between surveys and countries, so there isn't one agreed "number one" phobia.
There's no fixed number, because almost anything can become the focus of a phobia. Any online list of phobias includes hundreds of names, but many of those terms are rarely used by clinicians. In the DSM-5, most phobias fall under the single diagnosis of specific phobia, divided into five types: animal, natural environment, blood-injection-injury, situational and other.
The DSM-5 groups specific phobias into animal (such as spiders or dogs), natural environment (such as heights, storms or water), blood-injection-injury (such as needles or medical procedures), situational (such as flying, elevators or enclosed spaces) and other (such as choking, vomiting, loud noises or clowns). Social anxiety disorder and agoraphobia are diagnosed separately.
Some childhood fears fade naturally with age, but phobias that continue into adulthood often persist without treatment, especially if the person keeps avoiding the trigger. The good news is that treatment, particularly exposure therapy, works well for most people and often brings improvement within a relatively small number of sessions.
That depends on your definition of weird. Some of the most surprising names on any phobia list include omphalophobia (belly buttons), koumpounophobia (buttons), arachibutyrophobia (peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth) and hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (long words). A few of these terms were coined partly as jokes, but unusual fears can still cause real distress for the people who have them.
This list of phobias shows just how varied human fear can be, from spiders and storms to buttons and belly buttons. Whatever your fear, you're far from alone, and having a phobia doesn't mean anything is wrong with you as a person. It means your brain's alarm system has learned to go off at the wrong time, and that alarm can be retrained.
If something on this list of phobias holds you back, start small today: write down the one fear you'd most like to change and three tiny steps toward it, from easiest to hardest. Then, when you feel ready, take the first step, or share the list with a doctor or therapist who can help you climb the rest.
MSc Psychology
Amarha Fatimah holds an MSc in Psychology and has three years of experience in the field. At RegulatedSelf, Amarha writes about anxiety, stress and emotional regulation, turning psychological research into clear, practical guidance readers can use in everyday life.
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