as in panic
an extremely strong dislike or fear of someone or something
His fear of crowds eventually developed into a phobia.
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Recent Examples of phobia
Watch Cyrus talk about her paper phobia above.
—
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 5 Dec. 2025
Mindshift - Helps teens and young adults gain insight into and basic skills to manage anxiety, including GAD, social anxiety, specific phobias and panic attacks.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
This one’s closer to immersion therapy for phobias around motherhood, mental health, and emotional maelstroms that refuse to tamed or contained.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2025
Althea Soft conducted search engine analysis into the phobia between November 2022 and October 2024.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phobia
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 5 Dec. 2025
Mindshift - Helps teens and young adults gain insight into and basic skills to manage anxiety, including GAD, social anxiety, specific phobias and panic attacks.
—Cari Shane, USA Today, 28 Nov. 2025
This one’s closer to immersion therapy for phobias around motherhood, mental health, and emotional maelstroms that refuse to tamed or contained.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2025
Althea Soft conducted search engine analysis into the phobia between November 2022 and October 2024.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for phobia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phobia
Noun
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Phrases such as new rules or urgent account issues are designed to trigger panic before logic has a chance to catch up.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Feb. 2026
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The work ultimately was not about murder or church burning or Satanic panic, but about complicity, reflecting Ruch’s role as the accomplice back onto the viewer.—
Rachel Wetzler,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Within the broader terror campaign, the administration is focused on the most vulnerable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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Douglas doesn’t understand why his children are partial to their mother, his ex-wife, who was the source of so much instability and terror.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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This year, anxiety over the federal government and a wavering stock market is making people less secure in their finances, causing some tenants to move in with family or friends — leaving studio and one-bedroom apartments empty.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Feb. 2026
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The nonprofit, formerly known as Sattvic Meals Foundation, aims to address hunger anxiety at community colleges.—
Anne Gelhaus,
Mercury News,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The editorial board then throws in the new scare tactic for good measure at the end, claiming that there is some terrifying epidemic of puking, screaming and hospitalizations as the result of THC use (relying on spotty data, none of which has been linked to THC beverages).—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Jan. 2026
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Her interest has been spurred in party by the early death of her father and a recent health scare.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Knott’s has unveiled its annual Seasons of Fun calendar that includes events dedicated to Peanuts characters, Boysenberry treats, summertime barbecues, Halloween frights and Christmas cheer.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
29 Dec. 2025
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Though Heitor is claimed to be no more harmful than a puppy, there are some moments of fright for Griff who is a little uneasy acting opposite him and at one point panics and tosses him overboard, resulting in Heitor’s gruesome demise.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
23 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Phobia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phobia. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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