Meaning & use
acrophobia
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnicalmedical
An intense, often irrational fear of heights or of being high up.
Grammar: Uncountable, so it takes no plural and no 'a': 'She has acrophobia', not 'an acrophobia'.
Patterns
- have acrophobia
- suffer from acrophobia
- a fear of heights known as acrophobia
He was diagnosed with acrophobia after panicking on the tenth floor.
Acrophobia kept her away from balconies and glass elevators.
Therapy helped his acrophobia enough that he could fly again.
noununcountableinformal
A strong dislike or fear of high places in general, used informally for milder cases.
Grammar: Still uncountable; the informal use describes everyday nervousness rather than a clinical condition.
Patterns
- have acrophobia
- my acrophobia
I don't have real acrophobia, but I hate glass floors.
His acrophobia is mild — he just avoids the top of the tower.
Common combinations
- suffer from acrophobia
- Many people suffer from acrophobia but never seek treatment.
- severe acrophobia
- Her severe acrophobia made even a hotel room on the twentieth floor frightening.
- a fear of heights called acrophobia
- The doctor explained that a fear of heights called acrophobia is one of the most common phobias.
- overcome acrophobia
- He slowly overcame his acrophobia by climbing one floor higher each week.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fear of heights
- The everyday phrase; use it in ordinary conversation, and keep 'acrophobia' for medical or formal writing.
- vertigo
- Vertigo is dizziness or a spinning feeling, often at height, but it is a symptom, not the fear itself.
Word family
- acrophobic adjective
- Relating to or suffering from a fear of heights.
- acrophobe noun
- A person who has a fear of heights.
- phobia noun
- Any strong, irrational fear, of which acrophobia is one type.
Commonly confused: acrophobia or aerophobia? acrophobia or agoraphobia?
acrophobia vs aerophobia
Aerophobia is a fear of flying or of drafts of air, not a fear of heights, though the two are easy to mix up.
acrophobia vs agoraphobia
Agoraphobia is a fear of open or crowded places, not of being high up.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'acrophobia' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Acrophobia' is an uncountable noun meaning a fear of heights, so 'has acrophobia' fits. Option 2 is wrong because the word means fear of heights, not spiders, and it takes no 'an'. Option 3 reverses the meaning, and option 4 wrongly makes it countable.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “acrophobia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.