Make Your Point: NEOPHILIA

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pronounce NEOPHILIA:

nee oh FEE lee uh

Hear it.

connect this word to others:

As we check out the fun little world neophilia, see if you can recall these related words that also trace back to the Greek neos, meaning "new, young, fresh, or strange:"

1. A neo____sm is a newly coined word.

2. Literally a "new plant," a neoph___ is a beginner, a newbie.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Neophilia" has Greek bits that literally mean "a love (philia) of newness (neos)."

Neophilia is a love of new things. That is, if you love new things, prefer new things, or even obsess over new things—and then you quickly abandon them in favor of the next new things—then you're a neophiliac.

We've used some form of the word "neophilia" in English since about 1899. Its opposite, "neophobia," meaning "a fear or hatred of new things," is a teensy bit older, dating back to 1886.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the uncountable kind: "Her neophilia is out of control."

Other forms:

Someone who has neophilia is a neophiliac: "Fast fashion is designed to appeal to neophiliacs."

"Neophiliac" is also an adjective: "Fast fashion appeals to neophiliac consumers."

We often pair the word "neophilia" with its precise opposite, "neophobia," which is a feeling of hatred or fear for new things. The other form is "neophobic," which often takes on a more specific meaning of hating or fearing new foods.

how to use it:

"Neophilia" is a rare word, but it's easy to understand. It sounds scholarly and psychological.

And it's often negative in tone, since an obsession with new things for the sake of their newness tends to be shallow and wasteful, and therefore short-sighted and unsustainable.

You might talk about people who are afflicted with, gripped by, controlled by, or driven by neophilia.

To use the adjective, talk about neophiliac needs, desires, tendencies, behaviors, shoppers, consumers, users of social media, etc.

examples:

"These cats aren’t completely hairless; they just look that way. The first such breed originated in 1966 from a single naked kitten, appropriately named Prune. It is a mystery to me why anyone would want to perpetuate this condition; I suspect it is simple neophilia."
— Richard C. Francis, Salon, 25 May 2015

"Whilst governments' attention is turned to ways to reduce the environmental impact associated with the production of clothing, increasing consumer demand derived from 'neophilia' will negate and indeed overturn any successes achieved."
— Helen Powell, Sense of Time and Place, 1 October 2021

has this page helped you understand "neophilia"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "neophilia" without saying "an obsession for new stuff" or "a preference for novelty."

try it out:

Winifred Gallagher argued in her book New: Understanding Our Need for Novelty and Change that neophilia is a good thing, and, in fact, that it's "the quintessential human survival skill, whether adapting to climate change on the ancestral African savanna or coping with the latest digital toy from Silicon Valley."

Is it true? Does neophilia help us, even ensure our survival? Talk about the extent to which you agree or disagree.

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our (new!) game for June is "Happy Stories in Hidden Cities."

I'll give you a sentence from a happy news story, along with a long word that contains all the letters, in order, of the name of the city in which the story takes place. And you give me the city.

Here's an example:

"A puppy was excited to experience his first-ever snowfall on Friday, November 11, after a winter storm swept through the area." FARRAGO.

The answer here is "Fargo," the city where this story takes place. You can spot the name FARGO inside FARRAGO.

Try this one today:

"The Serio project is going up in the Scalo Romana area of the city, an older, partially run-down area that is experiencing a regeneration through new ideas in architecture and city planning." MILITIAMAN.

To see the answer, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. The precise opposite of NEOPHILIA is

A. NEOPHOBIA, a fear or hatred of novelty.
B. NEOMANIA, a morbid obsession with novelty.
C. PALEOPHOBIA, a fear or hatred of old things.

2. Mikko Packalen and Jay Bhattacharya proposed a "neophilia ranking" system for scientific journals, which would give preference to papers that "_____."

A. solve problems
B. build on new ideas
C. cite reputable sources

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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