Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

fear of long words

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia or Sesquipedalophobia is the fear of long words. It is mostly a joke from the fact that it is a long word itself.[1] The phobia is the second longest word in the English language.

The American Psychiatric Association doesn’t officially recognize this phobia. Instead, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is considered a social phobia. There is not much evidence people actually have this phobia.[2]

However, some people who could possibly have this fear are people who struggled with learning as a child, and spelling long words may bring them great anxiety or fear. This could also stem from social anxiety or another phobia.

References

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  1. "What Is Hippopotomonstroses-quippedaliophobia?". Healthline. 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  2. "What is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia?". www.sciencefocus.com. Retrieved 2024-09-25.