Think you’ve got a handle on these terms? We’ve curated the actual questions from MBA CET 2025 into an interactive quiz below.

Pro Tip: Pay close attention to the Strategic Note at the bottom of the quiz. It explains how the CET cell shifts the format of these questions across different slots!

Mastering Phobias: The “Fearless” Way to Ace MBA CET 2026 Verbal Ability

Are you ready to turn your fears into marks? In the recently concluded MBA CET 2025, many students were caught off guard by a specific trend in the Verbal Ability section: Phobia-based vocabulary.

While many aspirants focus solely on Reading Comprehension or Grammar, the CET cell often throws “Vocabulary grenades”—specific sets of words like Phobias, Manias, and Analogies—that can make or break your percentile.

Why Phobias Matter for CET 2026

Looking at the 2025 Slot 1 and Slot 5 papers, phobias weren’t just one-off questions. They appeared in:

• Direct Definition Questions: Identifying the name of a specific fear (e.g., Homichlophobia).
• Logical Analogies: Matching a body part or object to its related condition (e.g., Eye : Myopia).
• Odd One Out: Distinguishing a fear (Phobia) from an obsession (Mania).

Decoding the Greek Roots

The secret to mastering these words isn’t rote memorization—it’s understanding the roots. Most phobias are derived from Greek:

• Acro- (High/Top) + Phobia = Acrophobia (Fear of heights)
• Aichme- (Spear/Point) + Phobia = Aichmophobia (Fear of needles/knives)
• Anthro- (Human) + Phobia = Anthrophobia (Fear of people)

The “Cetking G-Strategy” for Vocab

Don’t just learn the word; learn the cluster. If you see Monophobia (fear of being alone), immediately link it to Bibliophobia (fear of books) or Pyrophobia (fear of fire). In the CET exam, the options often contain these related terms to confuse you. If you know the whole “family” of words, you can use the process of elimination to find the right answer in seconds.

To help your students prepare for the MBA CET 2026 Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning sections, here are 20 high-frequency phobias. These are categorized by their Greek/Latin roots, which is the most effective way for students to “guess” the meaning (G-Strategy) if they encounter a new word in the exam.

1. Nature & Environment

• Homichlophobia: Fear of fog (Seen in CET 2025 Slot 1).
• Thalassophobia: Fear of the ocean or deep, vast bodies of water.
• Pyrophobia: Fear of fire.
• Nyctophobia: Fear of the dark or night.
• Astraphobia: Fear of thunder and lightning.

2. Animals & Creatures (Zoophobia)

• Fennec phobia: Fear of foxes (Seen in CET 2025 Slot 1).
• Cynophobia: Fear of dogs.
• Ailurophobia: Fear of cats.
• Ophidiophobia: Fear of snakes.
• Entomophobia: Fear of insects.

3. Situational & Spatial

• Acrophobia: Fear of heights (Seen in CET 2025 Slot 1).
• Claustrophobia: Fear of confined or crowded spaces.
• Agoraphobia: Fear of open spaces or situations where escape might be difficult.
• Aerophobia: Fear of flying.
• Glossophobia: Fear of public speaking (Very common in Verbal Ability passages).

4. Objects & Medical

• Aichmophobia: Fear of knives, needles, or pointed objects (Seen in CET 2025 Slot 1).
• Hemophobia: Fear of blood.
• Thanatophobia: Fear of death.
• Bibliophobia: Fear of books (Often used in “Odd One Out” with Bibliophilia).
• Chromophobia: Fear of colors.

5. Social & Personal

• Anthrophobia: Fear of people or human company (Seen in CET 2025 Slot 1).
• Monophobia: Fear of being alone or isolated (Seen in CET 2025 Slot 1).
• Gynophobia: Fear of women.
• Androphobia: Fear of men.
• Xenophobia: Fear of strangers or foreigners.