Scopophobia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An intense fear of being looked at or observed by others
2. A pathological dread of attracting someone's gaze or scrutiny from those around you
3. An extreme anxiety triggered by the sensation of being watched or subjected to another person's visual attention

Etymology: Scopophobia is a modern coinage built from two Ancient Greek pieces. The first, "skopeō", meant to examine, inspect, or look into something closely, and it is the same root that gives English "scope" and "microscope". The second, "-phobia", comes from "phobos", meaning fear or dread, and is the suffix behind countless clinical terms such as "claustrophobia". Joined together, the pieces describe a fear of being looked at, or more precisely of being the object of another person's inspecting gaze. The Greeks themselves never used this combination; it was assembled in the modern era from classical building blocks, the same way many scientific and psychological terms were. Its appeal lies in how transparently it reads: anyone who knows "scope" and "phobia" can work out its meaning at once.