Hydrophobia is the fear of which?

• A. Water
• B. Heights
• C. Darkness
• D. Open spaces

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding how the word is built. Hydrophobia combines hydro-, meaning water, with -phobia, meaning fear. So hydrophobia describes a fear of water. In medical contexts, it’s also known as a symptom sometimes seen with rabies, where swallowing water can cause painful spasms, reinforcing the association with water, but the core meaning remains fear of water. The other terms refer to different fears: acrophobia is fear of heights, nyctophobia is fear of darkness, and agoraphobia is fear of open or crowded spaces. Therefore, the object of the fear described by hydrophobia is water.