Kenophobia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A psychological condition marked by an intense fear of expansive empty spaces or unfamiliar voids, leading to anxiety when confronted with such environments
2. This disorder encompasses a pronounced aversion to vast, open areas where the absence of content or presence triggers discomfort and unease
3. A condition characterized by an overwhelming fear of wide, empty spaces or voids, which can cause significant distress and anxiety in such settings

Etymology: Kenophobia is a compound built from two Ancient Greek parts: "kenós", meaning "empty", and "phobía", meaning "fear" or "dread". The second element, "-phobia", is the familiar suffix that turns up in words like "claustrophobia" and "hydrophobia", so the word simply reads as "fear of emptiness" with no hidden twist in its construction. The first element is the one worth a closer look. "Kenós" is the same Greek adjective that gives English "kenosis", a term from theology meaning the self-emptying of Christ, and the root behind "cenotaph", literally an "empty tomb". Once you see that shared core, the links across these otherwise unrelated words become clear, and the modern coinage is essentially a precise piece of classical building.