--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A useful word previously unknown to me…" description: "\"A useful word previously unknown to me: 'ergophobia', meaning 'fear or hatred of work'. At last I can define myself in one word.\" — Kenneth Tynan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/kenneth-tynan-13245_fear_a-useful-word-previously-unknown-to-me-e_1487822.png" --- # A useful word previously unknown to me: 'ergophobia'… ![“A useful word previously unknown to me: 'ergophobia', meaning 'fear or hatred of work'. At last I can define myself in one word.” quote by Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/kenneth-tynan-13245_fear_a-useful-word-previously-unknown-to-me-e_1487822.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/kenneth-tynan-13245_fear_a-useful-word-previously-unknown-to-me-e_1487822.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a24/kenneth-tynan-13245_fear_a-useful-word-previously-unknown-to-me-e_1487822.png) > “A useful word previously unknown to me: 'ergophobia', meaning 'fear or hatred of work'. At last I can define myself in one word.” [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker discovers a term that perfectly captures his personal aversion to work, giving him a concise self‑label. **In simple terms:** Finding a word that names a feeling can clarify self‑understanding. Key Takeaway Use precise language to define personal challenges. Themes self‑knowledge language identity Mood reflective introspective Type analytical personal When to use this quote - career counseling - personal journaling - therapy sessions - self‑assessment Key Concepts psychology self‑labeling Questions to Reflect On - How does naming a fear change your relationship to it? - Can a word limit growth? A Different Perspective A single label may oversimplify complex motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Define Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/define-myself/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) ## Related quotes > [“Even T.E. Lawrence, who hardly knew the meaning of fear, was by Sassoon's own account, terrified after only five minutes of his driving; 'my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-moorcroft-wilson/even-t-e-lawrence-who-hardly-knew-the-meaning-of-fear-was-by-sassoon/) Jean Moorcroft Wilson > [It was not the brutality of what occurred next that changed my mind and brought home to me the full meaning of fear. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/it-was-not-the-brutality-of-what-occurred-next-that-changed-my-mind/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [Dhoni is one guy who doesn't know the meaning of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shoaib-akhtar/dhoni-is-one-guy-who-doesn-t-know-the-meaning-of-fear/) Shoaib Akhtar > [I can't make you understand because you don't know the meaning of fear. You have the heart of a lion and an utter lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-can-t-make-you-understand-because-you-don-t-know-the-meaning-of/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“And I said to him that I had made a vow in my turn, that I would never marry a man who knew the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-i-said-to-him-that-i-had-made-a-vow-in-my-turn-that-i-would-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear and hatred can be the things that drive you. I don't always think of fear as a bad thing, it gives you fight-or-flight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-phillips/fear-and-hatred-can-be-the-things-that-drive-you-i-don-t-always-think/) [Jess Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-phillips/) > [“That child of hell wasn't human. Nothing lived in him but fear and hatred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/that-child-of-hell-wasn-t-human-nothing-lived-in-him-but-fear-and/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“You could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/you-could-not-have-pure-love-or-pure-lust-nowadays-no-emotion-was/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [When you were in love you knew no fear or hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/when-you-were-in-love-you-knew-no-fear-or-hatred/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [The misogyny that shapes every aspect of our civilization is the institutionalized form of male fear and hatred of what they have denied and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-misogyny-that-shapes-every-aspect-of-our-civilization-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“we live in a world full of fear and hatred, where it is our custom to conquer our own fear and hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lebea/we-live-in-a-world-full-of-fear-and-hatred-where-it-is-our-custom-to/) Samuel Lebea > [Fear and hatred do not seem to find expression in tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/fear-and-hatred-do-not-seem-to-find-expression-in-tears/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [There's a reason why anger, fear, and hatred are paths to the dark side: they all spring from a single source - the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-stover/there-s-a-reason-why-anger-fear-and-hatred-are-paths-to-the-dark-side/) [Matthew Stover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-stover/) > [Fear, hatred, and suspicion narrow your mind - compassion opens it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/fear-hatred-and-suspicion-narrow-your-mind-compassion-opens-it/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [When you were in love, you knew no fear or hatred. When you were fearful, there was no possibility of love or hate. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/when-you-were-in-love-you-knew-no-fear-or-hatred-when-you-were/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) ## More by Kenneth Tynan > [Art and ideology often interact on each other; but the plain fact is that both spring from a common source. Both draw on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/art-and-ideology-often-interact-on-each-other-but-the-plain-fact-is/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [I doubt if I could love anyone who did not wish to see Look Back in Anger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/i-doubt-if-i-could-love-anyone-who-did-not-wish-to-see-look-back-in/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [No theater could sanely flourish until there was an umbilical connection between what was happening on the stage and what was happening in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/no-theater-could-sanely-flourish-until-there-was-an-umbilical/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [What, when drunk, one sees in other women, one sees in Garbo sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/what-when-drunk-one-sees-in-other-women-one-sees-in-garbo-sober/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Pearl is a disease of oysters. Levant is a disease of Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/pearl-is-a-disease-of-oysters-levant-is-a-disease-of-hollywood/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Not content to have the audience in the palm of his hand, he goes one further and clenches his fist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/not-content-to-have-the-audience-in-the-palm-of-his-hand-he-goes-one/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [A good many inconveniences attend playgoing in any large city, but the greatest of them is usually the play itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/a-good-many-inconveniences-attend-playgoing-in-any-large-city-but-the/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Drama criticism ... is a self-knowing account of the way in which one's consciousness has been modified during an evening at the theatre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/drama-criticism-is-a-self-knowing-account-of-the-way-in-which-one-s/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Show me a congenital eavesdropper with the instincts of a Peeping Tom and I will show you the making of a dramatist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/show-me-a-congenital-eavesdropper-with-the-instincts-of-a-peeping-tom/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [In most writers, style is a welcome, an invitation, a letting down of the drawbridge between the artist and the world. Shaw had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/in-most-writers-style-is-a-welcome-an-invitation-a-letting-down-of/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [When you've seen all of Ionesco's plays, I felt at the end, you've seen one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/when-you-ve-seen-all-of-ionesco-s-plays-i-felt-at-the-end-you-ve-seen/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [I hope I never need to believe in God. It would be an awful confession of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/i-hope-i-never-need-to-believe-in-god-it-would-be-an-awful-confession/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Pornography is writing that seeks primarily, even exclusively, to bring about sexual stimulation. This can be done crudely or delicately. In the former case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/pornography-is-writing-that-seeks-primarily-even-exclusively-to-bring/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [There, standing at the piano, was the original good time who had been had by all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/there-standing-at-the-piano-was-the-original-good-time-who-had-been/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Among the classic tastes: bread sauce, Nuits St Georges Les Perdrix 1962, Worcestershire sauce, Toblerone and Bovril.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/among-the-classic-tastes-bread-sauce-nuits-st-georges-les-perdrix/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) [Explore all 51 Kenneth Tynan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) Nagisa Tatsumi > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A useful word previously unknown to me: 'ergophobia', meaning 'fear or hatred of work'. 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