phobia
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phobia
A pathological, exaggerated, and unfounded fear of certain things, situations, or living beings. It is a recognized mental disorder.
Er leidet an einer Spinnenphobie und gerät schon beim Anblick eines Bildes in Panik.
He suffers from a spider phobia and panics at the mere sight of a picture.
The ending '-phobie' comes from Greek and means 'fear'. It is used to name many specific fears, such as 'Klaustrophobie' (claustrophobia, fear of confined spaces).
Ihre Höhenangst ist eine Form der Akrophobie.
Her fear of heights is a form of acrophobia.
The preposition often indicates the meaning. For a pathological fear, you use 'vor' with the dative. For a strong aversion in the colloquial sense, 'gegen' with the accusative is common.
Er hat eine Phobie vor großen Hunden.
He has a phobia of large dogs.
In a medical context, 'Phobie' (phobia) is often used with certain verbs. Common phrases are 'an einer Phobie leiden' (to suffer from a phobia), 'eine Phobie entwickeln' (to develop a phobia), or 'eine Phobie überwinden' (to overcome a phobia).
Viele Menschen leiden an einer sozialen Phobie.
Many people suffer from social phobia.
This meaning of 'Phobie' (phobia) as a strong aversion is colloquial. It does not describe a medical disorder, but rather a strong personal dislike.
Mein Chef hat eine Phobie gegen jede Art von Unordnung.
My boss has a phobia about every kind of mess.
fear
'die Angst' and 'die Phobie' both have to do with fear of something. 'Angst' is the general word for this feeling and can occur in many normal situations. 'Phobie' is much more specific: it means a very strong, excessive fear of certain things or situations and can be a mental disorder. Colloquially, people sometimes also say 'Phobie' for a strong aversion, but that is less precise. Learners may confuse the words because both can occur in relation to something. The important point is: not every fear is a phobia.
Wegen seiner Phobie fährt Paul nie mit dem Aufzug.
Because of his phobia, Paul never takes the elevator.
Bei der Arbeit hat sie Angst, einen wichtigen Fehler zu machen.
At work, she is afraid of making an important mistake.