What does "phobophobia" mean?

The fear of fear; the fear of developing a phobia.

What is a synonym for "phobophobia"?

Common synonyms include: phobiaphobia.

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The fear of fear; the fear of developing a phobia. uncountable
"When Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," he was describing phobophobia -- the fear of being afraid."
2
a morbid fear of developing a phobia wordnet

"When Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," he was describing phobophobia -- the fear of being afraid."

From Ancient Greek φόβος (phóbos) + -phobia, equivalent to phobo- + -phobia.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.