It can also mean a lack of affinity or repellance                Precisely,   ~phobia / ~philia  as used in chemistry.                Speaking of the psych kind,  phobia is not quite synonymous with fear.   It's more like "irrational, involuntary revulsion" (or repulsion). It is a legit psychological disorder,  in some cases so debilitating (like agoraphobia) that the phobiac person can't function properly.            Curiously,   it's the fat-activists who shriek "Ableist scum!!'  when it comes to mental disorders,   then in the same sentence they also shriek "Fatphobic  scum!!"  as  if phobias were something you deliberately choose.    It's a fucking mental disorder which nobody asked for, nor chose. I have two mild phobias,  acrophobia (heights) and entomophobia (insects).   The former i improved a lot with years & years of climbing (since i was a teen)  - i still have it, but my knees & insides liquify at around 40 meters now instead of 3, when i look down. (I know i shouldn't look down but it's impossible not to - esp. if you're a phobic.)  It buggers me a lot because i'd be a good climber otherwise, flexible & shit.  (My daughter - non-phobic, thankfully - is like a spider.)         Insects - I like wasps, tolerate spiders, but the rest is panic panic panic attack..   Esp.  big fat hairy moths.   Somehow i feel the same visceral revulsion of fat bodies as for big moths.              edit//   - wonder why your post got downvoated?  :/     Maybe someone didn't read it any further than "in fairness", lol....