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12 Peculiar Phobias
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Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Balloons flying over the Rio Grande in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, New Mexico.

12 Peculiar Phobias

Do you have any of these?
Written by
Amy Tikkanen
Amy Tikkanen is Managing Editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Amy Tikkanen
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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There are hundreds of phobias. Most people know about claustrophobia (fear of closed places), xenophobia (fear of strangers), and acrophobia (fear of high places), but what about macrophobia? Or globophobia? Hopefully, you don’t suffer from listophobia and will read on to learn about some lesser-known phobias.

Ablutophobia

soap
soapBars of soap.

A person with this phobia has a fear of bathing or cleaning. Fortunately for AXE, it is rare.

Globophobia

A phobia that makes clowns sad, globophobia is a fear of balloons.

Porphyrophobia

heather
heatherHeather growing on a hill in Yorkshire, England.

This is a fear of the color purple, and we don’t mean the Alice Walker novel—though that might scare a person with bibliophobia, a fear of books.

Sesquipedalophobia

dictionary
dictionaryEnglish dictionary.

Someone with this phobia has a fear of long words—which makes whoever came up with the term rather mean.

Chiroptophobia

leaf-nosed bat
leaf-nosed batLeaf-nosed bat in flight.

This is a fear of bats. You know, those creepy flying mammals that sleep upside down and sometimes suck blood.

Macrophobia

This is a fear of long waits—which will likely afflict most people headed to the DMV.

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Lachanophobia

broccoli
broccoliEdible broccoli florets (Brassica oleracea, variety italica).

A phobia that affects children everywhere, it’s the fear of vegetables.

Anthophobia

Shasta daisies
Shasta daisiesYellow and white Shasta daisies (Leucanthemum ×superbum).

A fear of flowers, because sometimes daisies are just plain scary.

Hippophobia

Thoroughbred stallion
Thoroughbred stallionThoroughbred stallion with dark bay coat.

Fear of hippopotamuses? No, it’s the fear of horses.

Omphalophobia, Geniophobia, and Genuphobia

Knee joint
Knee jointThe ligaments and cartilage in a knee joint.

Fear of belly buttons, chins, and knees, respectively.

Amy Tikkanen