bibliophobia

From biblio- +‎ -phobia.

bibliophobia (uncountable)

1. The fear or dislike of books.

   Antonym: bibliophilia

   • 1818, Religio Christiani, a Churchman's Answer to Religio Clerici, quoted in The Gentleman's Magazine, October 1818, page 345:

     […] yet even he could not stand against that sin when temporarily infected with the poison of Bibliophobia.

   • 1963, John B. Nicholson, “A Disease Known as Bibliophobia”, in Reading and the Art of Librarianship‎^[1], published 1986, →ISBN, page 10:

     What a tragic illness bibliophobia is!

   • 2008, Mark Bauerlein, The Dumbest Generation‎^[2], →ISBN, page 67:

     E-literacy derives not from bibliophobia, then, but from the miraculous and evolving advent of digital technology, the Information Age and the Electronic Word.

2. (rare) The fear or dislike of the Bible.

   Antonym: bibliophilia

   • 1998 April 8, Rihannsu Alien, quoting Jacob Rossman, “Current Scholarship on Homosexuals & the Bible”, in alt.christnet.christianlife‎^[3] (Usenet), published 14 April 1998, archived from the original on 7 February 2026:

     Homophobia? I wonder who is pushing that term forward. Those who would try to change reality. Bibliophobia is the real problem. Fear of what the bible plainly says.

   • 2002 March 13, dgillesp, “Religious People Drag Religion Everywhere”, in alt.atheism‎^[4] (Usenet), archived from the original on 7 February 2026:

     Do I detect yet another example of anti-religious bigotry and/or bibliophobia. […]
     > I am doing an essay for college and I am wondering why people drag
     > religion everywhere they go. People believe everything in this world
     > according to some rediculous book in the bible.

   • 2003 July 28, hippo, “Six flood myths that did not originate independently”, in soc.history.ancient‎^[5] (Usenet), archived from the original on 7 February 2026:

     Thanks, your second cite was particularly interesting. Bibliophobia can be taken too far as in the case of some posters here. The OT [Old Testament] is a useful tool to researchers since it is was written in a language which has been much studied and is thoroughly understood, has remained basically intact for at least two thousand years, and covers a very long historic period.

   • 2009 October 19, Weland, “What if there really were evidence for Biblical Israel?”, in sci.archaeology‎^[6] (Usenet), archived from the original on 7 February 2026:

     > No, shit for brains. They did come to the exact opposite
     > conclusion as I did, but only by citing the bible.
     Aw, poor Jstupid the Jester has bibliophobia! Of course, even the most casual reader of these groups knows that your claim is false, in almost every cse you claimed X said something that X did not say, and had in fact said the opposite, in many cases even where the "bible" wasn't even directly involved or in view.

   • 2011 March 17, Brother Jumbo, “Research done for Brother Real”, in rec.music.dylan‎^[7] (Usenet), archived from the original on 7 February 2026:

     Sadism is actually an excellent example. It could get this debate out of the Bible-related qyagmire Really Real wants to drag it into. […] But you're taking my rhetorical strategy vis-a-vis Really Real's Bibliophobia absurdly at face value in taking this line. It's what I meant about you not always recognizing tone.