social phobia
1
6.8
- noun
- /ˈsoʊʃəl ˈfoʊbiə/
- Specialized
:
fobia social
- Walsh analyzes the literature on the relationship/continuum between shyness and social phobia and the inadequacies of the available literature regarding treatment alternatives for this particular form of personal challenge.
Examples
-
Patients may experience stress, social phobia, embarrassment, and low self-esteem more than healthy individuals, resulting in social and professional isolation.
Academic text (2015) -
In contrast, fear of negative evaluation is cognitive in nature and is central to both shyness and social phobia (Turner, Beidel, & Townsley, 1990).
Academic text (2005) -
Many people, it seems, have social phobias that make them dread running into people at the grocery store.
Fiction book (1993) -
Likewise, individuals with social phobia frequently report excessive worry, and dual diagnosis is common.
Academic text (2005) -
I'm someone who once suffered from and is now recovering from crippling social phobias.
Blog text (16) -
I have been battling depression and severe social phobia for quite a long time, and I'm mildly obsessive-compulsive.
Blog text (32) -
One explanation may be that these individuals had preexisting subthreshold social phobia that was exacerbated by other drug use.
Blog text (31) -
On essentially every assessment and test of social phobia and social anxiety given to both groups (Camperdown Program with and without a CBT component), there were no significant differences between groups on follow-up.
Academic text (2012) -
Many people, it seems, have social phobia that makes them dread running into people at the grocery store.
-
A teenager in New Jersey with social phobia missed months of school because of wild fears that she might vomit or blush uncontrollably.
Synonyms
57
5.1
A very strong, unreasonable fear of a specific thing or situation
7
4.8
Strong fear or worry about talking to other people because they may judge you
An extreme, unreasonable fear of a specific thing or situation that affects daily life
Antonyms
How Fearful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an intense fear of social situations' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'social' (relating to social situations) + 'phobia' (an intense irrational fear). This -phobia compounding pattern is common across languages and in English (e.g., agoraphobia, claustrophobia), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Social phobia comes from its two parts: social meaning 'with other people' and phobia meaning 'a strong fear', so picture someone frozen at a party because they feel all eyes on them. That's why social phobia means a strong fear of social situations that makes people often 'avoid' them.