phobophobia

1 9.9

A strong fear of developing a new fear

noun
/ˌfoʊboʊˈfoʊbiə/

Specialized

: fobofobia

As you can tell from looking at this list, there is a wide range of fear objects, from achluophobia (the fear of darkness) to phobophobia (the fear of phobias).

Examples

This should be easy, unless you have phobophobia (fear of phobias)!

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The therapist explained to her client that phobophobia is a real condition affecting those who are afraid of having phobias.
I think that the name phobophobia is a funny name.

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I learned that some people have phobophobia (fear of phobias) and that there is a phobia with its own name: paraskevidekatriaphobia.

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Many people who suffer from anxiety also experience phobophobia, fearing that they might develop new phobias.
Understanding phobophobia can help people address their fears about acquiring other phobias.

Antonyms

bravery

107 2.3

A person's willingness to face danger or pain without fear

fearlessness

8 4.1

Not being afraid in danger or trouble

How Fearful

to panic

381 2.3

phobophobia

Specialized

1 9.9

phobia

Specialized

58 5.1

fear

∞ 1.0

unease

21 4.4

Surface Forms

phobophobia singular

phobophobias plural

Morphology

phobophobia = phobia (semi-transparent) = phobo + phobia + phobo

The word is analyzable as 'phobo-' + 'phobia' meaning 'fear of phobias', but 'phobo-' is a Greek combining form not a common standalone English prefix and the reduplicative structure is rare.

Etymology

The word phobophobia comes from the root phobo- meaning 'fear', the same root you see in the common word phobia. So it literally says 'fear of fear', which explains why it means a strong fear of developing a phobia.