Word Families: -ology and -phobia 2

Are you unreasonably afraid of something? You’re phobic! This lesson will acquaint you with an interesting list of various phobias.

Circle a letter to identify the focus of each boldface phobia.

Hint 1:Context clues can help you make a good guess.

Hint 2:Think about the meaning of the word’s root. To be sure, check a dictionary.

1.Because she is terrified of tiny rodents, Muriel suffers from musophobia. a.roaches

b.mice

c.spiders

2.Brandon, a victim of claustrophobia, would rather climb the stairs than take the elevator.

a.heights b.electricity c.closed spaces

3.Wendy, who has nyctophobia, always makes sure that she’s indoors at dusk.

a.night watchmen b.darkness

c.streetlights 4.Marta’s brontophobia requires her to wear earplugs whenever it rains. a.thunder b.lightning c.earaches

5.Kent, who suffers from xenophobia, is very uncomfortable around people he doesn’t know well.

a.bullies b.foreigners c.strangers

6.Because of her ophidiophobia, Katya would never go hiking in the wilderness. a.snipers b.snakes c.sunshine

7.Dave’s necrophobia makes it impossible for him to join the family’s mortuary business.

a.death b.coffins c.graves

8. Aquaphobia prevents Ricky from enjoying sports such as swimming and fishing. a.rafts b.water c.aquaplanes