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phobie

phobia

noun foh-BEE Rare
Mind & Emotions Emotions

Origin: Greek phobos 'fear'

Also means

irrational fear

Usage Note

Phobie is used in both everyday and clinical French, as in avoir la phobie des araignées (to have a phobia of spiders). Many specific phobias simply borrow their English/Greek names, like arachnophobie or claustrophobie. The adjective phobique describes someone affected by a phobia.

Examples

"Il a une phobie des espaces fermés."

Natural Translation

He has a phobia of enclosed spaces.

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