Meaning & use
hypnophobia
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Meaning
noununcountablemedicalspecialist
An extreme, unreasonable fear of going to sleep or of sleep itself.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun: 'She suffers from hypnophobia.' Do not say 'a hypnophobia'.
Patterns
- suffer from hypnophobia
- a fear of sleep known as hypnophobia
- hypnophobia can cause …
People with hypnophobia may stay awake for days because they are terrified of falling asleep.
Her hypnophobia began after a series of frightening nightmares.
The therapist explained that hypnophobia is a treatable anxiety disorder.
Common combinations
- suffer from hypnophobia
- He has suffered from hypnophobia since childhood and avoids going to bed.
- severe hypnophobia
- Severe hypnophobia can lead to serious health problems from lack of sleep.
- treat hypnophobia
- Doctors may use talk therapy to treat hypnophobia.
- a form of hypnophobia
- Fear of the dark is sometimes a form of hypnophobia.
Synonyms and how they differ
- somniphobia
- A near-synonym also meaning fear of sleep; some specialists use the terms interchangeably, though somniphobia is more common in American English.
- clinophobia
- Specifically the fear of going to bed, which may overlap with hypnophobia but focuses on the bed itself.
Word family
- hypnophobic adjective
- Describing someone who has an irrational fear of sleep.
- hypnophobe noun
- A person who suffers from hypnophobia.
Commonly confused: hypnophobia or insomnia? hypnophobia or hypnophobia vs. hypnopompic?
hypnophobia vs insomnia
Insomnia is the inability to sleep, while hypnophobia is a fear of sleep; a person with hypnophobia may avoid sleep even when they are able to.
hypnophobia vs hypnophobia vs. hypnopompic
Hypnopompic describes the state of waking up, not a fear; the similar sound can cause confusion.
Practice
What does 'hypnophobia' mean?
Choose one answer.
Hypnophobia comes from Greek 'hypnos' (sleep) and 'phobos' (fear), so it means a fear of sleep. The other options are different phobias: acrophobia, hydrophobia, and autophobia.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hypnophobia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.