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Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

disposophobia en · NOUN

Etymology

From dispose + -o- + -phobia.

Meanings

  1. (humorous, informal, uncountable) Fear or dislike of disposing of items; a tendency to hoard things.
    • Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding or disposophobia) is the selfish acquisition of possessions (and failure to use or discard them)... 2012, Miriam Neff, Where Do I Go From Here?: Bold Living After Unwanted Change, →ISBN:
    • Compulsive hoarding has also been labeled "disposophoia" because the person with this disorder feels a real and palpable fear of throwing or giving away, even if the items are essentially worthless. 2013, Christopher Kennedy Lawford, Recover to Live: Kick Any Habit, Manage Any Addiction - Your Self-Treatment Guide to Alcohol, Drugs, Eating Disorders, Gambling, Hoarding, Smoking, Sex, and Porn, →ISBN:
    • At the extreme end of the clutter spectrum are folks who suffer from what some call disposophobia—fear of disposing. In other words, they hoard. According to one report, nearly a million junkaholics suffer from this psychological, and the proof is in the piles. To help those who suffer from disposophobia, a national support group called Clutterers Anonymous models itself after the twelve-step format of Alcoholics Anonymous. 2011, Iyna Bort Caruso, Simply Organized: "The all-in-one guide to organizing your home, office, children, and more!", →ISBN:
    • The fear of throwing things away. Disposophobia, I remembered. A disease immortalized by the legendary Collyer brothers, who'd been found dead in their mess in a Harlem brownstone. 2013, Julia Heaberlin, Lie Still: A Novel, →ISBN, page 305: