as in afraid
of, relating to, or having an extremely strong fear or dislike of someone or something
She is phobic about heights.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of phobic
The emails included instructions for editing email signatures to assist tech-phobic workers.
—
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2025
Can the commitment-phobic Marta fall in love?
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
The author has become controversial due to what her critics describe as phobic and abusive anti-transgender views.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 20 Jan. 2025
Some research suggests that being exposed to another person's phobic response can teach you to internalize that fear, as well.2
Not all people who develop somniphobia have risk factors for a phobia.
—Sherri Gordon, Health, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for phobic
Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 31 Jan. 2025
Can the commitment-phobic Marta fall in love?
—Marc Berman, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025
The author has become controversial due to what her critics describe as phobic and abusive anti-transgender views.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 20 Jan. 2025
Some research suggests that being exposed to another person's phobic response can teach you to internalize that fear, as well.2
Not all people who develop somniphobia have risk factors for a phobia.
—Sherri Gordon, Health, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for phobic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for phobic
Adjective
-
Umpires, afraid of being overturned, or at least, more aware of the new zone and its limitations, have been calling fewer strikes.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Almost half are personally afraid of losing their job to AI, ranking it among the most acute individual stressors measured in the survey.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
There were a number of people who were very, very scared.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
From then on, no more physical abuse occurs in front of the camera, though there is tension in the air during many of Joe's scenes, as Michael is scared of standing up to his dad until the very end.—
Brendan Morrow,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The key cabin crew are flight attendants Penny (Lucy Barrett) and Zoe (Na Shi), both of whom demonstrate bravery, to different ends, and show caring attention to the terrified children.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Though Ridley Scott works in a drastically different tone than the one John Carpenter brought to Dark Star, the two films share screenwriter Dan O’Bannon’s darkly comedic view of a future that has reduced humans to alternately bored and terrified cogs in larger machines.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
So how worried should these teams be?—
Shayna Goldman,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
People that maybe have a more precarious position in the industry and are worried and see AI as a threat — which is absolutely valid — and younger people, younger actors and musicians.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And also the anticipatory obedience by a lot of these news organizations who are more timid.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
-
The film follows Colin (Harry Melling), a timid man who is swept off of his feet by Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), an impossibly handsome biker, who takes him on as his submissive.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Phobic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/phobic. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
