arachnophobia
/əˌraknəˈfəʊbɪə
/noun [mass noun]
Extreme or irrational fear of spiders.If you don't already have arachnophobia (that's an irrational fear of spiders), you might after seeing this sci-fi flick....
- Would something like this also prove to be the cause of my arachnophobia and my fear of hypodermic needles?
- I found it rather difficult to write the scene with the spider since I have arachnophobia.
Derivatives
arachnophobe
- But arachnophobes can relax: Assassin spiders are a mere eighth of an inch (two millimeters) long and are harmless to humans.
- I think they are pretty creepy but I'm a bit of an arachnophobe myself.
- As the metamorphosis to Spiderman takes place, Parker learns to scale walls, swing from city rooftops and spin webs all over the place (an arachnophobe's worst nightmare).
arachnophobic
- My arachnophobic daughter would disagree with that most vociferously!
- While some imagery is potentially more disturbing for young kids (as well as for arachnophobic grown-ups), this adaptation is otherwise straightforward to a fault.
- Mena Suvari turns up as his Reiki-practising, crystal-loving, arachnophobic neighbour, Charlotte.
Origin
1920s: modern Latin, from Greek arakhnē 'spider' + -phobia.