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Most Common Phobias

Name the 10 most common phobias in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Guess either the "phobia" or what the person is afraid of
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Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 4, 2019
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First submittedFebruary 14, 2014
Times taken88,071
Average score50.0%
Rating4.28
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Fear of
Phobia
1
Public speaking
Glossophobia
2
Death
Necrophobia
3
Spiders
Arachnophobia
4
Darkness
Myctophobia
5
Heights
Acrophobia
6
People / social situations
Sociophobia
7
Flying
Aerophobia
8
Confined spaces
Claustrophobia
9
Open spaces
Agoraphobia
10
Thunder and lightning
Brontophobia
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101 Recent Comments
francescafawn
+9
Level 42
Aug 28, 2016
I was expecting clowns to feature! I'm glad homophobia wasn't there. It's not a phobia like flying or spiders, it just makes you an intolerant asshole.
Junji3000
+2
Level 53
May 15, 2024
surprised there wasn't heights
Dontforget
+3
Level 76
Apr 24, 2025
There was heights in 5th place
Sulps
+6
Level 55
Aug 28, 2016
Thunder and lightning, it's getting exciting.

Lights up the skyline to show where you are.

kiwiquizzer
+2
Level 68
Aug 28, 2016
I love thunder and lightning.
kiwiquizzer
+3
Level 68
Aug 28, 2016
I know a person with a phobia of vomiting. For real.
Dontforget
+2
Level 76
Apr 24, 2025
It's surprisingly common
DocEckleburg
+3
Level 68
Aug 21, 2025
I had not heard of it until recently on a work trip a colleague had an out of control full on panic attack on the bus when another colleague said they were feeling travel sick and thought they might vomit. Honestly took a while to work out what was going on.
EvilZiggy
+4
Level 71
Aug 28, 2016
How is anatidaephobia not here?
MasterKenobi
+2
Level 65
Sep 10, 2016
Haha nice. Gary Larson truly was a strange individual. Also, what about lyttlelongdogophobia?
AwesomePotato170
+2
Level 63
Mar 6, 2024
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
slockwood
+2
Level 51
Aug 28, 2016
I just thought of my mother in law, she has almost all of them and then some. I don't think she is afraid of death or spiders though.
FlickerP
+3
Level 79
Jan 12, 2026
Ironically, I have a fear of my mother in law
quizwhizz
+1
Level 73
Aug 28, 2016
They clearly must have lost the records from The Deep South...
courthousedoc
+3
Level 79
Aug 28, 2016
I would have thought "fear of commitment" would have made the list from all the comments I hear from single people.
HectorVortac
+1
Level 47
Aug 28, 2016
I'm not afraid of heights. I'm afraid of widths. (No one else has brought up Steven Wright.)
Niamhue
+1
Level 37
Oct 23, 2016
Accept astrophobia for Brontophobia, it's the most common name
ander217
+3
Level 73
Jan 29, 2017
I'd never heard of brontophobia. I would have guessed it is a fear of dinosaurs, but after thinking about it I remember the name brontosaurus means "thunder lizard". If I'd had another ten minutes I might have gotten it. :)
ctleng76
+2
Level 65
Apr 21, 2020
I second the astraphobia suggestion. It is more commonly known as astraphobia rather than brontophobia.
Chiara77
+1
Level 76
Apr 21, 2020
I also typed astraphobia, and didn't try thunder or lightning because I had never heard it called something else.
squidpsyco
+1
Level 66
Dec 15, 2016
Suprised Monophobia, the fear of being alone isn't on here.
saif62
+1
Level 58
Jan 29, 2017
Please consider Spider, Height etc singular terms.
KeithDixon
+2
Level 34
Jan 29, 2017
0/10 lets go boys
Sterref10
+3
Level 61
Mar 6, 2017
Agoraphobia isn't technically 'fear of open spaces'. It is 'fear of being trapped in a public places where escape is difficult or impossible without embarrassment'. But feel free to leave it as open spaces as it's what most people know it as. Just wanted to put it in the comments for people to see
MustardCustard
+1
Level 66
May 19, 2017
Shouldn't close quarters be accepted for confined spaces.
Ferretgod
+2
Level 83
Jul 13, 2017
i don't see FOMO on this list anywhere? clear sign of an error. but thunder and lightning very very frightening
brainchild
+1
Level 68
Jul 18, 2017
I see my phobia didn't make the list.

Belonephobia: fear of sharp objects.

In my case... needles!

Great quiz!

kiwiquizzer
+1
Level 68
Dec 22, 2021
I tried that one! My phobia (more of a harmless aversion really) is of dangly jewellery (kosmemophobia).
ked2313
+1
Level 65
Feb 8, 2018
Maybe accept embarrassment for Social Situations?
Ourania
+6
Level 47
Feb 21, 2018
IT IS NYCTOPHOBIA (from GreeK 'Nycta' ) not Myctophobia
Eigengrau
+2
Level 63
Apr 21, 2020
Yes, but in some places, it is known as Myctophobia. I guess that form is more common in the US, and that's why it is that way in this quiz. But I too think that the answer should be Nyctophobia, even though both work.
Jorissie
+1
Level 94
Apr 9, 2018
How about Trypophobia (Fear of holes in your skin or having a beehive like structured skin)? Studies show that over 60% percent of the people has this phobia. Google if you doubt if you are one of them.
GeoDude
+6
Level 46
Apr 26, 2019
A lot of that is just gross-out pictures. True trypophobia is fear of otherwise ordinary things with holes. The lotus is a classic example. Not gory pictures of human skin and stuff.
Sifhraven
+2
Level 76
Apr 21, 2020
or a cheesegrater or garlicpress.
BizarroTommy
+1
Level 71
Feb 16, 2019
could you have planes be accepted for flying?
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Oct 11, 2019
Do you think the wings are scary or is it the wheels? or maybe all those little windows?
GeoDude
+1
Level 46
Apr 26, 2019
Darkness? Was this a survey of 4 year olds?
JackintheBox
+3
Level 82
Apr 15, 2020
No it wasn't, 'GeoDude'.
Sifhraven
+2
Level 76
Oct 11, 2019
I doubt this list comes anywhere close to reality. Not even gonna discuss the order. But some are definitely missing, rats/mice, snakes, dentist, bees/wasps, insects in general, clowns, dogs, blood. (I cant tell you the times I hear people about those things..basicly on a daily basis..)
JackintheBox
+2
Level 82
Apr 15, 2020
Also just because people don't talk about their fear of something (that often) doesn't mean they don't have it. And the word is basically*.
camus
+2
Level 80
Apr 21, 2020
I think there is a difference between common fear and phobias like those listed here. People who are afraid of spiders may shrink back if they see them, while people with arachnophobia go out of their way to avoid spiders, so much that it may affect their everyday lives.
Fuse
+1
Level 80
Dec 31, 2019
WHAT ARE HALF OF THESE? Where's the fear of needles/ injections.
KrazyKookieKing
+1
Level 47
Feb 18, 2020
I personally am terrified of the KoolAid man (koolphobia)
CactiKing0314
+2
Level 44
Feb 24, 2020
Can aerophobia accept airplanes or planes for flying?
JackintheBox
+2
Level 82
Apr 15, 2020
Yes please! I was thinking of this phobia but tried 'plane'!
stevediverse
+2
Level 86
Apr 21, 2020
People shouldn't be afraid of flying - that's what planes are supposed to do. They should be afraid of crashing.
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Apr 21, 2020
haha
jmellor13
+2
Level 68
Apr 21, 2020
Hard to believe more people are afraid of thunder than are afraid of dogs or needles. I personally have such an intense fear of the dentist that I have to get doped up before going. Don't know whether fear of dental work is in the top ten, but I suspect many people have it.
Jacktheguy
+2
Level 93
Apr 21, 2020
Would it be reasonable to assume the number of people who suffer from #6 have increased in the last couple months? Or am I just overthinking things?
Quizmaster
+4
Level ∞
Apr 21, 2020
When someone says "Am I just overthinking things" the answer is almost always yes.
Jacktheguy
+2
Level 93
Apr 21, 2020
Good to know
Zenelle
+2
Level 47
Apr 21, 2020
I put 'closed' spaces instead of confined spaces, as that's how I've always heard it referred as... Could this be counted?

...I do realise later I could've just put the start of the phobia, too, but I thought it wasn't there because closed spaces didn't work.

JonOfKent
+1
Level 61
Apr 21, 2020
Idiot! I thought you had to give the "proper" word. I was thinking afterwards, "how did so many people know myctophobia?"
Sunkist22
+2
Level 42
Apr 21, 2020
I'm surprised trypophobia (fear of small holes) isn't on here. There are a lot of people that have that fear (including some famous celebrities), including me haha
QRU
+1
Level 77
Apr 21, 2020
I'd believe that a lot of people would describe it more as a kind of repugnance than a phobia.
shape816
+1
Level 68
Apr 21, 2020
Should accept "space" for "spaces" since they're not only afraid of multiple spaces.
MrBubbles
+1
Level 68
Apr 21, 2020
Anataediphobia
BrennoAU
+2
Level 42
Jun 5, 2020
What have ducks ever done to you?
ooftownroad
+1
Level 70
Apr 21, 2020
i have suffered from brontophobia since i was 5.
Julotek
+1
Level 65
Apr 21, 2020
Well where is xenophobia ? :D

To be more constructive I think Aerophobia is more the fear of air or wind than the fear of flying (which is pretty close to Aviophobia).

mrLyu
+1
Level 50
Apr 21, 2020
Thought fear of failure (atychiphobia) would be near the top. I tried it several times.
hamsep
+3
Level 64
Apr 22, 2020
Can you accept planes for flying?
Jared0309
+1
Level 80
Apr 22, 2020
Can you accept Astraphobia for Brontophobia?
AlexThirkell
+4
Level 74
Apr 22, 2020
Judging by the repetitiveness of these comments, "Fear of reading comment sections before commenting" must be no.1
Linen
+1
Level 55
Jun 5, 2020
Being a debater myself, I have heard the saying "What others fear more than death we do for fun" but I never knew that was literally the truth
Marvel072506
+1
Level 45
Jun 5, 2020
Any other severe melissophobiacs out there?
LuigiDood227
+1
Level 72
Jan 29, 2021
WHERE IS hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia?
TheBerryLegend
+1
Level 51
Jan 29, 2021
Here are the phobias I have from this quiz:

Necrophobia, Arachnophobia, Myctophobia, Acrophobia, Aerophobia and Agoraphobia

sumguy
+2
Level 87
Mar 17, 2021
I was surprised when "planes" and "airplanes" wasn't on the list. Apparently I needed to specify "flying".
Irishboy11
+2
Level 38
Oct 28, 2021
I'm Suprised Cynophobia Isn't On The List
jennywren21
+1
Level 62
Dec 21, 2021
I got fear of death and spiders.

Tried fear of:

clowns

drowning

dogs

gay people

being alone

germs

the number 13

home invasion

governmental overreach

aliens

I tried to come up with what I thought people would say and thought surely...! And when I saw the answers like public speaking, I remembered that as a left-handed extrovert, my brain works a little differently. Yay...I guess?? LOL.

kalbahamut
+2
Level 79
Dec 21, 2021
I'm sure that realistically intimacy should also make the top 10. Much more present in many people's lives than a fear of spiders...
riverdale
+1
Level 42
Dec 21, 2021
Taxes?
Alacave
+1
Level 55
Dec 21, 2021
OhmyGodphobia : The fear of Mcdonalds being closed
unknown2000
+1
Level 47
Dec 21, 2021
Damn got the last one (actually #1) with one second left on the clock. Interesting quiz!
maple
+1
Level 52
Dec 21, 2021
I somehow got the fear of thunders but I didn't get the fear of open spaces :D
LAP3UNC
+3
Level 91
Dec 21, 2021
Come on, "closed spaces" doesn't work but "open spaces" does?
ChineseChen
+1
Level 70
Dec 21, 2021
I'm actually surprised that trypophobia (16% of people) isn't on here.
JWatson24
+1
Level 71
Dec 21, 2021
I'm surprised not many people have mentioned thalassophobia (fear of deep bodies of water and, by extension, drowning) yet. I thought that would be pretty common.
QuizApe
+1
Level 72
Dec 21, 2021
I used to think that claustrophobia was the fear of Santa Claus, because you know, “he sees you when you’re sleeping”.
DaveM
+1
Level 76
Dec 21, 2021
What's the term for the anxiety of not being able to pay for healthcare, or not wanting to leave your family in shedloads of medical debt so you just choose not to receive healthcare. Or the threat of bankruptcy (due to said medical debt).

Surely more common in the good 'ol USA than spider fear.

Tomtrific
+2
Level 80
Dec 23, 2021
Wow, I suffer from every one of these phobias. l must be a coward.
elcampeador
+4
Level 77
Jul 25, 2022
Scared of closed and open spaces? Do you live in a medium-sized room?
elcampeador
+2
Level 77
Jul 25, 2022
I wonder what the methodology on this is... were people just asked what they were most afraid of? Where they asked if they were afraid of a list of things? Is it only diagnoses in a clinical setting?
thedamsnackbar12
+1
Level 28
Jan 25, 2023
I thought that fear of the dark was Nyxophobia
thedamsnackbar12
+1
Level 28
Jan 25, 2023
*Nyctophobia
Murphster45
+2
Level 97
Feb 17, 2023
Would you accept talking in public?
HappyEevee
+1
Level 48
Mar 18, 2023
i have two of these t.t
KiloNova
+1
Level 61
Oct 3, 2024
I'm chilling with Algophobia, Claustrophobia*, and something-else phobia, so consider yourself lucky

*really extreme

equivallent
+2
Level 54
Mar 18, 2023
nyctophobia not myctophobia
Dollyfroggy
+1
Level 63
Oct 6, 2023
Please accept "closed spaces" / "enclosed spaces" for claustrophobia / confined spaces"
Emchupi
+1
Level 77
Jul 19, 2024
Enter answer here:

women

4 / 10 guessed

There's no way "women" isn't up there...

Nitoginko
+1
Level 50
Jul 19, 2024
most normal jetpunk user
EricF
+2
Level 81
Oct 6, 2024
Would have expected needles to be here
SneakCheetah263
+1
Level 47
Feb 20, 2025
where is hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
noobracer122
+1
Level 53
Mar 20, 2025
I have Glossophobia, necrophobia, acrophobia, sociophobia, claustrophobia and aerophobia lol and also a phobia that isn't on the list, the fear of insects (i'm not really afraid of them just really disgusted by them)
ThrowingAmanda
+1
Level 24
Apr 9, 2025
I see mine didn’t make the list. I have Thalassophobia: a fear of deep water/water I can’t see the bottom of. I can’t even see pictures of deep water 😭
leni
+2
Level 79
May 26, 2025
I'm pretty sure the correct word is Nyctophobia with an 'N', not an 'M', as the word 'dark' in Greek is nychta - not mychta
GeniusKhan
+1
Level 73
Aug 11, 2025
How did only 28% get Glossophobia?
DoktorApplejuce
+1
Level 76
Aug 27, 2025
Agoraphobia is not the fear of open spaces. Kenophobia is. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder often triggered by unfamiliar situations.
renbag
+1
Level 74
Mar 14, 2026
I think this is based on old data. Current top phobias in the USA according to all data are:

-Xenophobia

-Homophobia and Transphobia

-Theophobia (fear of God)

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