neophilia
/niːəˈfɪ.li.ə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The preference for any new foods not forming part of the diet associated with an earlier nutritional deficiency or other illness.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "LIKE SOCIABILITY, conscientiousness, or any other trait, your particular expression of neophilia has potential advantagesand drawbacks. Exploiting its strengths and compensating for its limitations begins with an understanding of your […]"
- "On the one hand, it was certainly imbued with the desire for change (rampant neophilia). On the other hand, it argued that what ordinary people wanted — rather than what planners, architects and other aesthetic judges said they ought to want […]"
- "In order to account for the appearance of a novelty response in the deficient or recovered rat, Rozin and Rodgers (1967) suggest that either the state of deficiency triggers an innate neophilia, or that the deficient rat develops an aversion to the deficient diet and thus shows a strong preference for any new food. […] The neophilia of thiamine-deficient rats could be a direct consequence of a specific aversion for familiar deficient diet (paleophobia). On the other hand, it is also possible that a true neophilia exists along with the paleophobia."
Etymology
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /niːəˈfɪ.li.ə/