Arachnophobia denotes the fear of which?

• A. Spiders
• B. Snakes
• C. Peanuts
• D. Darkness

Answer: (A)

The concept being tested is understanding what arachnophobia means. Arachnophobia is a specific phobia describing an intense, irrational fear of spiders, with avoidance and distress that can disrupt daily life. The word comes from Greek roots: "arachne" meaning spider and "phobos" meaning fear, which explains why this term is used for spiders.

Knowing this, other fears don’t fit because they have different names: the fear of snakes is ophidiophobia, the fear of darkness is nyctophobia, and while peanuts can trigger fears or allergies, there isn’t a standard clinical term for a fear of peanuts in the same way. So the term that precisely matches the fear of spiders is arachnophobia.