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Glite Dictionary
😱 Fear of water 🐶 Rabies (old term)
hydrophobia

hydrophobia

9.9
An old name for rabies, a dangerous disease spread by animal bites
  • noun
  • /ˌhaɪdrəˈfoʊbiə/
  • Archaic
translation icon : hidrofobia
  • I opened the basket and saw the animal's muzzle white with slobber, its eyes gone murky with hydrophobia.

Examples

  • Hydrophobia, that's when you foam at the mouth.

    Easy Come, Easy Go (1967)

  • Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy.

    Blog text (10)

  • Poor creature, it had expired of hydrophobia.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • The dog was dangerously aggressive, a clear sign it had hydrophobia.

  • The veterinarian explained that hydrophobia is a symptom of rabies in animals.

  • After being bitten by a potentially rabid animal, he was worried about developing hydrophobia.

Synonyms

rabies
vshydrophobia
  • Specialized
4 3.5

A serious disease spread by the bite of an infected animal that attacks the nervous system

is an older term used historically for the same disease
lyssa
vshydrophobia
  • Specialized
9.9

A serious virus that attacks the brain and nerves of animals and people and spreads by animal bites

is an older nontechnical name for that disease

Antonyms

health
∞ 1.0

The condition of a person's body and mind, especially being free from illness or injury

Surface Forms

hydrophobia singular
hydrophobias plural

Morphology

hydrophobia = phobia (opaque) = hydro + phobia

Although the word is historically built from hydro- plus phobia, the sense 'rabies' is no longer predictable from those parts.

Etymology

Hydrophobia was once used as a name for the disease rabies because many sick people showed a 'fear' of water and could not swallow. That's why older books and reports often call rabies 'hydrophobia'.