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Meaning of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia | Babel Free

Noun CEFR C2
/ˌhɪ.pəˌpɒ.tə(ʊ)ˈmɒn.stɹə(ʊ)ˌsɛs.kwɪ.pɪˌdɑːl.ɪ.ə(ʊ)ˈfəʊ.bɪ.ə/

Definitions

The fear of long words.

humorous, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“Ben suffers from hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, so he seldom uses words of more than three syllables.”
“However, we assume that despite the best endeavours of science, some phobias will always remain. These include paraskavedekatriaphobia, or fear of Friday the 13th. And hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, which is fear of long words.”
“Those who find this column troubling are suffering from hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia—the fear of long words. Or, more likely, rupophobia—a fear of rubbish.”
“Coincidentally there is a masochistic PCP with hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (fear of long words) curled up in an alleyway across the street. He has been whispering “Antidisestablishmentarianism” to himself over and over for two days now, experiencing up to one orgasm every three hours as a result of The Pain […]”

CEFR level

C2
Mastery
This word is part of the CEFR C2 vocabulary — mastery level.

See also

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