Definitions

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

  • noun An abnormal sensitivity to or intolerance of light, especially by the eyes, as may be caused by eye inflammation, lack of pigmentation in the iris, or various diseases.
  • noun An abnormal or irrational fear of light.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An intolerance or dread of light.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) A dread or intolerance of light.

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

  • noun medicine Symptom of excessive sensitivity to light and the aversion to bright light.

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

  • noun pain in the eye resulting from exposure to bright light (often associated with albinism)
  • noun a morbid fear of light

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • So you know, when a patient has this sort of symptoms which are sometimes stiff neck, they may have headache, they may have what is known as photophobia, which is aversion to lights.

    CNN Transcript Apr 2, 2008 2008

  • For example, if you're having a migraine headache, light can actually cause dramatic increase in pain, it's actually something known as photophobia, where people actually become fearful of light.

    CNN Transcript Jan 4, 2008 2008

  • Sensitivity to light is called photophobia, that can be very significant.

    CNN Transcript Apr 4, 2007 2007

  • It is worse when the nausea, photophobia, extreme sensitivity to sound and smells comes into play.

    Chocolate & Vicodin Jennette Fulda 2011

  • It is worse when the nausea, photophobia, extreme sensitivity to sound and smells comes into play.

    Chocolate & Vicodin Jennette Fulda 2011

  • “A seventy-six-year-old Hispanic male, status post-MI times two, with a history of poorly controlled hypertension and medical noncompliance presenting with new onset occipital headaches and photophobia.”

    Healer Carol Wiley Cassella 2010

  • You get pain and swelling around the eye, as well as photophobia, fever and headache.

    Archive 2009-04-01 Emma Lurie 2009

  • You get pain and swelling around the eye, as well as photophobia, fever and headache.

    Enterovirus 70 Emma Lurie 2009

  • Short-term exposure to UV can lead to photophobia – visual discomfort and sensitivity to bright light or photokeratitis, a sunburn-like condition that can last 48 hours or so.

    Archive 2008-08-01 Thatsnews 2008

  • Short-term exposure to UV can lead to photophobia – visual discomfort and sensitivity to bright light or photokeratitis, a sunburn-like condition that can last 48 hours or so.

    Do YOU thoughtlessly risk your children’s eyesight? Here's how you can find out and what you can do to prevent it. Thatsnews 2008

Comments

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  • "The brilliance of reflected light on the layer of fuel oil was bringing about photophobia so intense in some cases that the victims were totally blind. Even with their lids shut tight the pain was intense, almost as if their eyeballs had been seared with fire."

    —Thomas Helm, Ordeal by Sea: The Tragedy of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, 1963 (New York: Signet, 2001), 117

    November 14, 2008

  • And that was before the sharks started gnawing at them.

    November 15, 2008

  • Yes, this was actually the morning after the sinking, before the sharks found them.

    November 15, 2008