Meaning & use
Hydrophobe
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A substance or molecule that repels or does not mix with water.
See it in a sentence
Wax is a classic hydrophobe, causing rainwater to bead and roll off a freshly waxed car.
Chemists attach hydrophobe groups to one end of a surfactant molecule to help it interact with oils.
A note on using this word
Formed from Greek "hydro-" (water) and "-phobe" (fearing); in chemistry it is the direct counterpart of a "hydrophile," a water-attracting substance.
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Another way to use it
2. noun
An archaic term for a person suffering from an abnormal fear of water, historically associated with rabies.
Nineteenth-century physicians once used "hydrophobe" to describe rabies patients who panicked at the sight of water.
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