Definitions for nyctophobia
nyc·to·pho·bi·a

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. nyctophobianoun

   a morbid fear of night or darkness

WiktionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. nyctophobianoun

   A fear of the night, nighttime or darkness.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. nyctophobia

   Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of fear of the dark is natural, especially as a phase of child development. Most observers report that fear of the dark seldom appears before the age of two years. When fear of the dark reaches a degree that is severe enough to be considered pathological, it is sometimes called scotophobia (from σκότος – "darkness"), or lygophobia (from λυγή – "twilight"). Some researchers, beginning with Sigmund Freud, consider the fear of the dark to be a manifestation of separation anxiety disorder.An alternate theory was posited in the 1960s, when scientists conducted experiments in a search for molecules responsible for memory. In one experiment, rats, normally nocturnal animals, were conditioned to fear the dark and a substance called "scotophobin" was supposedly extracted from the rats' brains; this substance was claimed to be responsible for remembering this fear. These findings were subsequently debunked.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. nyctophobia

   Nyctophobia is a fear or extreme aversion to darkness or night. It is a specific phobia often characterized by severe anxiety, distress or discomfort when in a dark environment or thinking about darkness. This condition often begins in childhood and may persist into adulthood.

WikidataRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Nyctophobia

   Nyctophobia and φόβος - phobos, "fear" is a phobia characterized by a severe fear of the dark. It is triggered by the brain’s disfigured perception of what would or could happen when in a dark environment. Despite its pervasive nature, there has been a lack of etiological research on the subject. The fear of darkness is a psychologically-impacted feeling of being disposed from comfort to a fear-evoking state. The fear of darkness or night has several non-clinical terminologies—lygophobia, scotophobia and achluophobia. Nyctophobia is a phobia generally related to children but, according to J. Adrian Williams’ article titled, Indirect Hypnotic Therapy of Nyctophobia: A Case Report, many clinics with pediatric patients have a great chance of having adults who have nyctophobia. The same article states that “the phobia has been known to be extremely disruptive to adult patients and… incapacitating”.

Matched Categories

1. • Simple Phobia

How to pronounce nyctophobia?

1. Alex

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   David

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   Mark

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   Daniel

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   Libby

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   Australian

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   Neerja

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   Oliver

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How to say nyctophobia in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of nyctophobia in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of nyctophobia in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=nyctophobia
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Nyctophobia
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyctophobia
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=nyctophobia