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Dec 25, 2009
This week's theme
Fear and desire

This week's words
agoraphobia
dipsomania
astraphobia
onomatomania
acrophobia

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

acrophobia

PRONUNCIATION:
(ak-ruh-FOH-bee-uh)

MEANING:
noun: An abnormal fear of heights.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek acro- (height, tip) + -phobia (fear). Some related words are acronym (a word formed with the tips of other words), acrobat (one who walks on tiptoes), and acropolis (a city built on high ground).

USAGE:
"Dr Anthe George suggests that Mark would not even have been able to stand on the balcony of his own accord because of his acute acrophobia. 'Mark was truly afraid of heights. I do not mean he was afraid of standing on the edge of a cliff -- he was afraid of any height."
Kevin Rawlinson; My Son Was Killed; The Independent (London, UK); Dec 9, 2009.

See more usage examples of acrophobia in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. -Thomas Paine, philosopher and writer (1737-1809)

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