I Swear English › Vocabulary A–Z › Xenophobia
What does ‘Xenophobia’ mean?
Related forms: Also Xenophobe, Xenophobic
Xenophobia is the irrational fear of strangers or people from abroad. A strong dislike of people from other countries. It can also be a fear of things that are foreign or strange. It is used by the journalists to mean racism. It comes from the ancient Greek xenos meaning foreign or strange and phobos meaning fear. A xenophobe is a person who holds foreigners or strangers in deep contempt. A person who despises strangers. And xenophobic is the adjective that describes this attitude.
“The Nazi party was a xenophobic organization”.
“(reporter) There were many skinheads who took part in a xenophobic demonstration today”.
“Xenophobes tend to be closed to new ideas”.
Watch: ‘Xenophobia’ explained
Video transcript
X is for Xenophobia. A noun, an uncountable noun that means the fear of strangers. The fear of people from other places. So for example: At the moment in Europe xenophobia is very strong. People are afraid of people from other countries. Notice the adjective xenophobic, or a person a xenophobe. OK. This comes from the Ancient Greek, xeno from another place and phobia fear of. So there you are, xenophobia, the fear of people from other countries. Thanks for watching the video and I'll see you in another. Bye for now.
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