Fear of women

An abnormal, irrational and persistent fear of women.

Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize they face no threat.

Fear of women is termed 'gynephobia,' a word derived from the Greek 'gyne' (woman) and 'phobos' (fear).

Alternate spelling: 'gynaephobia.' The prefix 'gyne-' (or gyn-, gyno-, gynec-, gyneco-, gynaec-, or gynaeco-) enters into a number of biomedical terms such as, for examples, gynecology, gynecomastia (breast development in a male), and a gynecoid pelvis (a pelvis shaped like a woman's).

Terms pertinent to gynecophobia include: androphobia, an abnormal and persistent fear of men; and pedophobia, an abnormal and persistent fear of children and babies.