List of Phobias: Learn 105 Common Phobias of People around the World

Have you ever felt extremely afraid of spiders, heights, public speaking, or even small spaces? These intense fears are often called phobias. A phobia is more than a simple fear—it is a strong and sometimes overwhelming reaction to a specific object, situation, or activity.

In this article, you’ll learn a comprehensive list of common phobias in English, along with their meanings. Whether you are expanding your vocabulary, studying psychology-related terms, or simply curious about unusual fears, this list will help you understand some of the most well-known phobias from A to Z.

Table of Contents

What is a Phobia?

A phobia is an intense and persistent fear of a specific object, situation, activity, or living thing. Unlike ordinary fears, a phobia can cause strong feelings of anxiety and may lead a person to avoid the source of their fear whenever possible.

Common examples include a fear of spiders, heights, flying, or public speaking. Phobias can range from mild to severe and may affect a person’s daily life, depending on how strong the fear is.

In everyday English, the word phobia is often used to describe a strong fear of something. In psychology, however, a phobia refers to a recognized anxiety disorder characterized by excessive and irrational fear.

List of Phobias

Achievephobia – The fear of success.
Achondroplasiaphobia – The fear of midgets.
Acrophobia – The fear of heights.
Aerophobia – The fear of flying.
Agliophobia – The fear of pain.
Agoraphobia – The fear of open or crowded spaces.
Ailurophobia – The fear of cats.
Alektorophobia – The fear of chickens.
Allodoxaphobia – The fear of opinions.
Anatidaephobia – The fear of ducks.
Androphobia – The fear of men.
Anthropophobia – The fear of people.
Aphenphosmphobia – The fear of intimacy.
Apiphobia – The fear of bees.
Aquaphobia – The fear of water.
Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders
Astraphobia – The fear of thunder/lightning AKA Brontophobia, Tonitrophobia, Ceraunophobia.
Athazagoraphobia – The fear of being forgotten or not remembering things.
Atychiphobia – The fear of failure.
Autophobia – The fear of abandonment and being abandoned by someone.
Bananaphobia – The fear of bananas.
Basiphobia – The fear of falling.
Bathophobia – The fear of depths can be anything associated with depth (lakes, tunnels, caves).
Cacomorphobia – The fear of fat people. Induced by the media.
Carcinophobia – The fear of cancer.
Catoptrophobia – The fear of mirrors.
Chaetophobia – The fear of hair.
Chronophobia – The fear of the future.
Cibophobia – The fear of food.
Claustrophobia – The fear of small spaces like elevators, small rooms and other enclosed spaces.
Chorophobia- Fear of dancing.
Chrometophobia or Chrematophobia- Fear of money.
Coasterphobia – The fear of roller coasters.
Coulrophobia – The fear of clowns.
Contreltophobia- Fear of sexual abuse.
Coprastasophobia- Fear of constipation.
Cynophobia – The fear of dogs.
Didaskaleinophobia – The fear of school.
Disposophobia – The fear of getting rid of stuff triggers extreme hoarding.
Dystychiphobia – The fear of accidents
Emetophobia – The fear of vomiting and the fear of loss of your self control.
Enochlophobia – The fear of crowds is closely related to Ochlophobia and Demophobia.
Entomophobia – The fear of bugs and insects, also related to Acarophobia.
Equinophobia – The fear of horses.
Ergophobia – The fear of work.
Galeophobia – The fear of sharks in the ocean or even in swimming pools.
Gamophobia – The fear of commitment or sticking with someone to the end.
Gephyrophobia – The fear of bridges and crossing even the smallest bridge.
Gerascophobia – The fear of getting old.
Globophobia – The fear of balloons.
Glossophobia – The fear of public speaking.
Gynophobia – The fear of women..
Hemophobia – The fear of blood.
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – The fear of long words.
Iatrophobia – The fear of doctors.
Ichthyophobia – The fear of fish.
Katsaridaphobia – The fear of cockroaches.
Kinemortophobia – The fear of zombies.
Koumpounophobia – The fear of buttons.
Lepidopterophobia – The fear of butterflies and often most winged insects.
Ligyrophobia – The fear of loud noises.
Metathesiophobia – The fear of change.
Monophobia – The fear of being alone.
Mottephobia – The fear of moths.
Musophobia – The fear of mice.
Myrmecophobia – The fear of ants.
Mysophobia – The fear of germs. It is also rightly termed as Germophobia or Bacterophobia.
Nosocomephobia – The fear of hospitals.
Numerophobia – The fear of numbers and the mere thought of calculations.
Nyctophobia – The fear of darkness.
Ombrophobia – The fear of rain.
Omphalophobia – The fear of belly buttons.
Ophidiophobia – The fear of snakes.
Ornithophobia – The fear of birds.
Panophobia – The fear of everything or fear that terrible things will happen.
Paraskevidekatriaphobia – The fear of Friday the 13th.
Pediophobia – The fear of dolls.
Phasmophobia – The fear of ghosts. AKA Spectrophobia.
Philophobia – The fear of love.
Phobophobia – The fear of fear.
Photophobia – The fear of light caused by something medical or traumatic.
Podophobia – The fear of feet. Some people fear touching or looking at feet, even their own.
Pogonophobia – The fear of beards or being scared of/around bearded men.
Pseudodysphagia – The fear of choking often after a bad eating experience.
Pyrophobia – The fear of fire.
Ranidaphobia – The fear of frogs.
Samhainophobia – The fear of Halloween affects children/superstitious people.
Scelerophobia – The fear of crime involves being afraid of burglars, attackers or crime in general.
Scoleciphobia – The fear of worms.
Sidonglobophobia – The fear of cotton balls or plastic foams.
Somniphobia – The fear of sleep.
Spheksophobia – The fear of wasps.
Taphophobia – The fear of being buried alive by mistake and waking up in a coffin underground.
Technophobia – The fear of technology is often induced by culture/religion.
Telephonophobia – The fear of talking on the phone.
Thalassophobia – The fear of the ocean. Water, waves and unknown spaces.
Thanatophobia – The fear of death.
Theophobia – The fear of God causes an irrational fear of God or religion.
Tokophobia – The fear of pregnancy involves giving birth or having children.
Triskaidekaphobia – The fear of the number 13 or the bad luck that follows.
Trypanophobia – The fear of needles.
Trypophobia – The fear of holes is an unusual but pretty common phobia.
Vehophobia – The fear of driving.
Xenophobia – The fear of the unknown.
Zoophobia – The fear of animals.