Meaning & use
commitment phobe
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Meaning
nouncountableinformalhumorous
a person who feels anxious about or avoids making long-term commitments, especially in romantic relationships
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a commitment phobe' or 'commitment phobes'. It is usually used about someone else, not about yourself.
Patterns
- be a commitment phobe
- call someone a commitment phobe
He has dated many people but never settles down; his friends joke that he is a commitment phobe.
She called herself a commitment phobe after ending three serious relationships.
The article explains why commitment phobes often feel trapped by long-term plans.
Word forms
| plural | commitment phobes |
|---|
Common combinations
- a total commitment phobe
- My brother is a total commitment phobe who runs away when anyone mentions marriage.
- be called a commitment phobe
- After he canceled the wedding, he was called a commitment phobe by the whole family.
- commitment phobe tendencies
- She admits she has commitment phobe tendencies and prefers to keep things casual.
Synonyms and how they differ
- commitment-phobic
- An adjective meaning afraid of commitment; use it to describe behavior or a person, as in 'He is commitment-phobic.'
- fear of commitment
- A noun phrase for the feeling itself, not for the person; you can say 'He has a fear of commitment.'
Word family
- commitment noun
- A promise or dedication to something; the base word in this compound.
- phobia noun
- A strong unreasonable fear; the second part of the compound comes from this word.
Commonly confused: commitment phobe or commitment-phobic?
commitment phobe vs commitment-phobic
This is the adjective form, while 'commitment phobe' is the noun for the person. Say 'He is commitment-phobic,' not 'He is commitment-phobe.'
Practice
Which sentence uses 'commitment phobe' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Commitment phobe' is a countable noun for a person, so it fits after 'a' in sentence A. The other options treat it as a verb or an uncountable noun, which is not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “commitment phobe”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.