rupophobia

English

Etymology

Possibly from Ancient Greek ῥύπος (rhúpos, “filth”) +‎ -phobia (See rhypophobia). Alternatively, related to Latin rupes (“cliff, rock”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹu.pəʊ.ˈfəʊ.bi.ə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊbiə

Noun

rupophobia (uncountable)

1. The fear of rubbish or dirt.

   Synonyms: mysophobia, ablutomania

   • 1925, Transactions of the Section on Dermatology and Syphilology of the American Medical Association at the Annual Session, page 189:

     Patients with rupophobia, the fear of dirt, are at times encountered by the dermatologist. Some of these patients present a traumatic dermatitis, or a self inflicted lesion of the skin.

   • 1983, Neuropsychobiology, page 75:

     In fact it is known that in rupophobia there is always an obsessional component.

   • 2022, Cosimo Schinaia, Psychoanalysis and Ecology, page 65:

     Today we see the triumph of hyper-hygiene, a sort of rupophobia. In a consumerist and fetishist way, this prescribes appearance, aesthetics, and narcissism.

Derived terms

• rupophobic