Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An abnormal fear of spiders.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An abnormal or irrational fear of spiders.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a morbid fear of spiders

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek arakhnē, spider + –phobia.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἀράχνη (arachnē, "spider") +‎ -phobia.

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Examples

  • Phobias fall under the category of anxiety disorders and describe pathological fears; while many know the term from the infamous expression "arachnophobia" pathological fear of spiders, many different types of phobias have been observed in patients.

    Jalees Rehman, M.D.: 'Islamophobia' Is Not A Phobia M.D. Jalees Rehman 2011

  • Phobias fall under the category of anxiety disorders and describe pathological fears; while many know the term from the infamous expression "arachnophobia" pathological fear of spiders, many different types of phobias have been observed in patients.

    Jalees Rehman, M.D.: 'Islamophobia' Is Not A Phobia M.D. Jalees Rehman 2011

  • Also in fear, hate and love, which may have pathological expressions such as arachnophobia (Diski's is cured by London Zoo), animal hoarding, or the internet fad for "lolcats": cat photos whose ungrammatical text (we get Genesis chapter one in "lolcat") resembles the dog-speak that Kipling nauseatingly sustains throughout "Thy Servant a Dog".

    What I Don't Know About Animals by Jenny Diski – review Ruth Padel 2010

  • For adults: 1. Animal phobias, such as arachnophobia (of spiders), ophidiophobia (of snakes) and cynophobia (of dogs)

    The Seattle Times 2010

  • This is a bad thing if you happen to suffer from arachnophobia or choroptophobia -- fear of spiders and bats respectively.

    Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D.: Boooooooo! What Tricks, Treats Terrify You? M.D. Glenn D. Braunstein 2011

  • This is a bad thing if you happen to suffer from arachnophobia or choroptophobia -- fear of spiders and bats respectively.

    Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D.: Boooooooo! What Tricks, Treats Terrify You? M.D. Glenn D. Braunstein 2011

  • Not a comforting thought if you suffer from arachnophobia, a fear of spiders.

    Spider Bites 2010

  • Exposure to animated spiders in a videogame environment was just as effective in curing people of arachnophobia as the traditional therapy of handling real spiders, according to a study in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

    A Videogame for Arachnophobes Ann Lukits 2011

  • This is a bad thing if you happen to suffer from arachnophobia or choroptophobia -- fear of spiders and bats respectively.

    Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D.: Boooooooo! What Tricks, Treats Terrify You? M.D. Glenn D. Braunstein 2011

  • This is a bad thing if you happen to suffer from arachnophobia or choroptophobia -- fear of spiders and bats respectively.

    Glenn D. Braunstein, M.D.: Boooooooo! What Tricks, Treats Terrify You? M.D. Glenn D. Braunstein 2011

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