social anxiety disorder

• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)də(ɹ)

social anxiety disorder (countable and uncountable, plural social anxiety disorders)

1. (clinical psychology, psychiatry) The most common anxiety disorder, characterized by intense fear in one or more social situations, causing considerable distress and impaired ability to function in at least some parts of daily life. Symptoms of fear, distress, anxiety, avoidance of social situations, and impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of daily life, are persistent, typically lasting for a minimum of at least 6 months, and are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or another medical condition.

• social anxiety
• social phobia

• selective mutism