Meaning & use
logophobia
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablerare
An intense, unreasonable fear of words, especially of speaking or writing particular words.
Grammar: Used as a mass noun: 'suffer from logophobia'. It does not usually take a plural or an article.
Patterns
- suffer from logophobia
- a fear of words known as logophobia
Her logophobia was so strong that she avoided saying her own name aloud.
Some people with logophobia become anxious when they have to write even a short email.
The therapist explained that logophobia is not a formally recognized diagnosis, but a descriptive term.
Common combinations
- suffer from logophobia
- He claims to suffer from logophobia and refuses to speak in public.
- a form of logophobia
- Avoiding all words that start with 's' can be a form of logophobia.
- overcome logophobia
- With gradual practice, she was able to overcome her logophobia.
Commonly confused: logophobia or glossophobia?
logophobia vs glossophobia
Glossophobia is the fear of public speaking, not of words themselves. Logophobia focuses on words, while glossophobia focuses on the act of speaking to an audience.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'logophobia' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Logophobia is a fear of words, so avoiding certain words fits. The other options describe fears of spiders (arachnophobia), a love of dictionaries, or fast speech, none of which match the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “logophobia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.