Meaning of disposophobia | Babel Free

Definitions

Fear or dislike of disposing of items; a tendency to hoard things.

humorous, informal, uncountable

Examples

“At the extreme end⟳ of the clutter spectrum are folks who suffer⟳ from what some call⟳ disposophobia—fear of disposing. In other words, they hoard. According to one report⟳, nearly a million junkaholics suffer⟳ from this psychological, and the proof is in the piles. To help⟳ those who suffer⟳ from disposophobia, a national support⟳ group called Clutterers Anonymous models itself after the twelve-step format of Alcoholics Anonymous.”

“Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding or disposophobia) is the selfish acquisition of possessions (and failure to use⟳ or discard them)...”

“The fear of throwing things away. Disposophobia, I remembered. A disease immortalized by the legendary Collyer brothers, who'd been found dead in their mess in a Harlem brownstone.”

“Compulsive hoarding has also been labeled "disposophoia" because the person with this disorder feels a real and palpable fear of throwing or giving away, even if the items are essentially worthless.”

CEFR level