xenophobia

noun

xe·​no·​pho·​bia ˌze-nə-ˈfō-bē-ə  ˌzē- 

: fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign

Did you know?

If you look back to the ancient Greek terms that underlie the word xenophobia, you'll discover that xenophobic individuals are literally "stranger fearing." Xenophobia, that elegant-sounding name for an aversion to persons unfamiliar, ultimately derives from two Greek terms: xenos, which can be translated as either "stranger" or "guest," and phobos, which means either "fear" or "flight." Phobos is the ultimate source of all English -phobia terms, but many of those were actually coined in English or New Latin using the combining form -phobia. Xenophobia itself came to us by way of New Latin and first appeared in print in English in the late 19th century.

Examples of xenophobia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

From rollbacks on reproductive rights in the U.S. to the dismantling of environmental protections and the amplification of xenophobia, governments are retreating from their responsibilities to protect vulnerable communities and future generations. —Paul Klein, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025

These examples can still involve xenophobia — a fear of outsiders, even one disconnected from skin color. —Robert Petkoff Krish Seenivasan Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025

American liberals are quick to associate the fear of cultural corrosion with xenophobia. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025

This rhetoric has stoked xenophobia and led to a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes across the country. —John Wang, New York Daily News, 2 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for xenophobia

• rhizobia
• agoraphobia
• claustrophobia
• homophobia
• hydrophobia
• photophobia
• phobia

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

xenophobia

noun

xe·​no·​pho·​bia ˌzen-ə-ˈfō-bē-ə 

ˌzēn-

: fear of foreigners or foreign things

Etymology

from Greek xeno- "strange, foreign" (from xenos "foreigner") and English phobia "an exaggerated fear"

Medical Definition

xenophobia

noun

xe·​no·​pho·​bia ˌzen-ə-ˈfō-bē-ə  ˌzēn- 

: fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign