acrophobia
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- acrophobic adjective
Etymology
Origin of acrophobia
Explanation
Want to go to the top of the Empire State Building? You must not have acrophobia. Someone who is terrified of heights will just wait for you in the gift shop — which is on the ground floor. You can see the word phobia, or extreme fear, in acrophobia. Acro comes from the Greek word akron, which means "summit" or "high point." When you put it all together, you have a word that means "fear of heights." Whoever named Akron, Ohio, must have studied Greek; it is located on a plateau in Summit County.
Vocabulary lists containing acrophobia
Phobia Fever
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Never Fear: Phobia, Phobic
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Projekt 1065
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It caused multiple audience members during a screening to have a mild case of acrophobia.
From Washington Times • Oct. 24, 2017
Of course, the 3-D views of the street below as seen from above are somewhere between exhilarating and terrifying, depending on a viewer’s tendency to acrophobia.
From The New Yorker • Sep. 30, 2015
He discovered while training that he was afflicted with acrophobia — fear of heights.
From New York Times • Aug. 26, 2015
At the beginning of his presidency, Dwight Eisenhower was forced to break with the tradition of his predecessors and give up the presidential suite in the Towers because his wife, Mamie, suffered from acrophobia.
From Salon • Mar. 7, 2014
Dread of Small Heights.—It is often thought that acrophobia, or the fear of a height, concerns only great heights and that ordinary elevations produce no discomfort.
From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
