Phobias Types A to Z: Strange and Common List of Phobias By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial process Kendra Cherry Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on July 14, 2019 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on August 13, 2020 Print Phobias are one of the most common mental illnesses in the United States. The National Institute of Mental Health suggests that 8% of U.S. adults have some type of phobia. Women are more likely to experience phobias than men. Typical symptoms of phobias can include nausea, trembling, rapid heartbeat, feelings of unreality, and being preoccupied with the fear object. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) identifies three different categories of phobias: social phobias, agoraphobia, and specific phobias. When people talk about having a phobia of a specific object such as snakes, spiders, or needles, they are referring to a specific phobia. Verywell / JR Bee A–Z List of Some of the More Common Phobias While not comprehensive, this phobia list offers a glimpse of the many phobias that can have a serious impact on a person's life. As you may notice while you browse through this list, most specific phobias fall into one of four major categories: Fears of the natural environment Fears related to animals Fear related to medical treatments or issues Fears related to specific situations One important thing to remember is that virtually any object can become a fear object. The names of specific phobias are often formed as nonce words, or words coined for a single occasion only. These names themselves are often formed by taking a Greek prefix that represents the fear object and adding the -phobia suffix. Because of this, any attempt at a completely exhaustive list of phobias would simply be an exercise in futility. Any list of phobias could grow with the addition of newly coined terms for previously unnamed specific phobias. While listing all of the phobias that may exist is not possible, it can be helpful to look through a list of some of the more commonly described phobias. As you can see by looking at this list, almost any object or situation can become the source of fear. A Achluophobia - Fear of darkness Acrophobia - Fear of heights Aerophobia - Fear of flying Algophobia - Fear of pain Agoraphobia - Fear of open spaces or crowds Aichmophobia - Fear of needles or pointed objects Amaxophobia - Fear of riding in a car Androphobia - Fear of men Anginophobia - Fear of angina or choking Anthrophobia - Fear of flowers Anthropophobia - Fear of people or society Aphenphosmphobia - Fear of being touched Arachibutyrophobia - Fear of peanut butter Arachnophobia - Fear of spiders Arithmophobia - Fear of numbers Astraphobia - Fear of thunder and lightning Ataxophobia - Fear of disorder or untidiness Atelophobia - Fear of imperfection Atychiphobia - Fear of failure Automatonophobia - Fear of Human-Like Figures Autophobia - Fear of being alone B Bacteriophobia - Fear of bacteria Barophobia - Fear of gravity Bathmophobia - Fear of stairs or steep slopes Batrachophobia - Fear of amphibians Belonephobia - Fear of pins and needles Bibliophobia - Fear of books Botanophobia - Fear of plants C Cacophobia - Fear of ugliness Catagelophobia - Fear of being ridiculed Catoptrophobia - Fear of mirrors Chionophobia - Fear of snow Chromophobia - Fear of colors Chronomentrophobia - Fear of clocks Chronophobia - Fear of Time Claustrophobia - Fear of confined spaces Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns Cyberphobia - Fear of computers Cynophobia - Fear of dogs D Dendrophobia - Fear of trees Dentophobia - Fear of dentists Domatophobia - Fear of houses Dystychiphobia - Fear of accidents E Ecophobia - Fear of the home Elurophobia - Fear of cats Entomophobia - Fear of insects Ephebiphobia - Fear of teenagers Equinophobia - Fear of horses G Gamophobia - Fear of marriage Genuphobia - Fear of knees Glossophobia - Fear of speaking in public Gynophobia - Fear of women H Haphephobia - Fear of touch Heliophobia - Fear of the sun Hemophobia - Fear of blood Herpetophobia - Fear of reptiles Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia - Fear of long words Hydrophobia - Fear of water Hypochondria - Fear of illness I Iatrophobia - Fear of doctors Insectophobia - Fear of insects K Koinoniphobia - Fear of rooms Koumpounophobia - Fear of buttons L Leukophobia - Fear of the color white Lilapsophobia - Fear of tornadoes and hurricanes Lockiophobia - Fear of childbirth M Mageirocophobia - Fear of cooking Megalophobia - Fear of large things Melanophobia - Fear of the color black Microphobia - Fear of small things Mysophobia - Fear of dirt and germs N Necrophobia - Fear of death or dead things Noctiphobia - Fear of the night Nosocomephobia - Fear of hospitals Nyctophobia - Fear of the dark O Obesophobia - Fear of gaining weight Octophobia - Fear of the figure 8 Ombrophobia - Fear of rain Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes Ornithophobia - Fear of birds P Papyrophobia - Fear of paper Pathophobia - Fear of disease Pedophobia - Fear of children Philematophobia - Fear of Kissing Philophobia - Fear of love Phobophobia - Fear of phobias Podophobia - Fear of feet Porphyrophobia - Fear of the color purple Pteridophobia - Fear of ferns Pteromerhanophobia - Fear of flying Pyrophobia - Fear of fire S Samhainophobia - Fear of Halloween Scolionophobia - Fear of school Scoptophobia - Fear of being stared at Selenophobia - Fear of the moon Sociophobia - Fear of social evaluation Somniphobia - Fear of sleep T Tachophobia - Fear of speed Technophobia - Fear of technology Tonitrophobia - Fear of thunder Trypanophobia - Fear of needles/injections Trypophobia - Fear of Holes V-Z Venustraphobia - Fear of beautiful women Verminophobia - Fear of germs Wiccaphobia - Fear of witches and witchcraft Xenophobia - Fear of strangers or foreigners Zoophobia - Fear of animals A Word From Verywell Phobias can have a serious impact on well-being, but it is important to remember that you are not alone. Phobias are common, but also treatable. If you believe that you have the symptoms of some type of phobia, consult your doctor for further evaluation and treatment advice. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Regier DA, Kuhl EA, Kupfer DJ. The DSM-5: Classification and criteria changes. World Psychiatry. 2013;12(2):92-8. doi:10.1002/wps.20050 Spiegel SB. Current issues in the treatment of specific phobia: Recommendations for innovative applications of hypnosis. Am J Clin Hypn. 2014;56(4):389-404. doi: 10.1080/00029157.2013.801009 Additional Reading National Institute of Mental Health. Specific Phobia Among Adults. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013. Colman, AM. A Dictionary of Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2015.