heliophobic
- adjective
- /ˌhɛliəˈfoʊbɪk/
- Specialized
- He prefers to stay indoors because he is heliophobic and cannot tolerate bright sunlight.
Examples
-
She was diagnosed as heliophobic, causing her to avoid sunny places to prevent skin irritation.
-
Many people with heliophobic conditions find shade or wear protective clothing when outdoors.
-
Her heliophobic skin glowed as if moonlit in the blue light of the cabin's environmental readouts.
Fiction book (2000) -
Rather, she walked the streets proudly bare-chested for the rest of the layover, drawing stares with her heliophobic skin, her ceaseless monologue, and her rank, which was frankly unbelievable on a fifteen-year-old.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
React strongly to light, often changing color or breaking down
Feels pain or discomfort in bright light and avoids it
Tending to avoid light and stay in dark places
Avoids light and lives in dark places
How Sun-Sensitive
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
heliophobic = heliophobe (semi-transparent) = helio + phobe + ic
The adjective is formed regularly from the noun heliophobe with the common adjectival suffix -ic.
Etymology
Heliophobic comes from the parts helio- meaning 'sun' and -phobic meaning 'afraid of', the same idea you see in the word 'phobia'. So, heliophobic describes a plant, animal, or person that avoids sunlight or is harmed by it.