sociophobia
|so-ci-o-pho-bi-a|
🇺🇸
/ˌsoʊsiəˈfoʊbiə/
🇬🇧
/ˌsəʊsiəˈfəʊbɪə/
fear of social situations / fear of people
Etymology
'sociophobia' originates from modern English coinage combining the prefix 'socio-' (from Latin 'socius' via French/Latin 'socialis', meaning 'companion' or 'social') and the suffix '-phobia' from Greek 'phobos' meaning 'fear'.
'socio-' developed from Latin 'socius' and entered English in formations related to 'social'; '-phobia' comes from Greek 'phobos' and was combined with various stems in New Latin/modern English to form terms like 'agoraphobia', 'claustrophobia', and later 'sociophobia'.
Initially formed to mean 'fear related to companions or society', the term has come to be used both for the clinical concept of social anxiety (social phobia) and more loosely for a general fear or aversion to people or society.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an excessive or irrational fear of social situations and interactions; essentially the same as social phobia or social anxiety disorder.
Her sociophobia made attending parties and giving presentations extremely distressing.
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Noun 2
a more general fear or aversion to society or people in general (closer to anthropophobia or misanthropic fear).
In some texts, sociophobia is used to describe a deep mistrust or fear of people rather than clinical social anxiety.
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Last updated: 2025/10/13 06:59