mysophobia

9.9

A very strong fear of dirt and germs

noun
/ˌmaɪsəˈfoʊbiə/

Specialized

: misofobia

After reading about bacteria, she developed a mild case of mysophobia.

Examples

People with mysophobia may obsessively clean their homes to avoid germs.
Her mysophobia made it difficult for her to visit public places.
His mysophobia made it difficult for him to shake hands with others.
Many people with mysophobia avoid touching doorknobs.
After developing severe mysophobia, she refused to touch anything in public spaces.
His mysophobia made him avoid crowded places where he feared coming into contact with germs.
Battling mysophobia meant that he spent hours cleaning his house to eliminate any trace of dirt.

Synonyms

automysophobia

vsmysophobia

Specialized

9.9

A strong fear of being dirty

covers fear of dirt, germs, and contamination rather than only personal dirtiness

Antonyms

mysophilia

NSFW

1 9.9

A sexual attraction to dirt or very dirty places

Surface Forms

mysophobia singular

mysophobias plural

Morphology

mysophobia = phobia (semi-transparent) = myso + phobia

The element '-phobia' clearly indicates 'fear', but the combining form 'myso-' (dirt/germs) is not a standalone English word and may not be known to average learners.

Etymology

Mysophobia comes from the Greek parts myso- meaning 'dirt' or 'filth' and -phobia meaning 'fear', the same -phobia you see in arachnophobia. So, mysophobia is the strong fear of dirt or germs, which is why people with it may avoid touching things or clean all the time.