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.
phobia
Colloquially, a strong aversion to or pronounced dislike of something.
Sie hat eine regelrechte Phobie gegen unpünktliche Menschen.
She has a real phobia about people who are not punctual.
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
„Angst haben vor“ can refer to a normal, even intense fear of a specific thing or situation. „Die Phobie“, by contrast, means a persistent, excessive, and unfounded fear that is considered a mental disorder. Use „Angst“ for an ordinary fear and „Phobie“ only for this particular form of fear.
Wegen ihrer Phobie vor Spinnen meidet sie auch Bilder von ihnen.
Because of her phobia of spiders, she also avoids pictures of them.
Sie hat Angst vor Spinnen, wenn sie eine im Keller sieht.
She is afraid of spiders when she sees one in the basement.
