Standard Lemma guide

sophophobia

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • Received-Pronunciation: sŏfəfōʹbĭə
  • Received-Pronunciation: /sɒfəˈfəʊbɪə/

1

noun

Meaning 1

The fear of learning.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • 1995, July 24th: mary.elizabeth, sci.med.aids (Google group): From the Editor, 8:00am Washington insiders should note that the new Presidential Advisory Council is the Administration’s second effort to form an advisory group. When one of the Administration’s staffers reviewed the original list of committee nominees, the President was informed that two of the nominees had already died and one was close to death. When I discussed the original nominations with the staffer who ultimately decided to protect the White House from this gaffe, I recommended that he let the deceased nominees go through to illustrate the Executive Office’s lack of sensibility of and sensitivity to the reality of the AIDS pandemic. If my advice would have been taken, President Clinton could have excused himself on the basis of his sophophobia.
  • 2001, December 11th: Robert Knowles, ok.general (Google group): BumbleFrank Goes on Bended Knee, 10:36pm Yeah, I’ve learned to downplay the “edgykashun” angle here. Especially since the vast majority of mine was obtained outside Oklahoma, where I might have been exposed to dangerous outside ideas. Fortunately, my experience in ‛Bama taught me to recognize the symptoms of sophophobia, so I have learned to adapt and only reveal my “credentials” to those similarly endowed. So, show me yours and I’ll show you mine.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From sopho- + -phobia; compare phobosophy