Xenophobia is a fear or contempt contempt of that which is foreign or unknown, especially of strangers or foreign peoples.Definition at [LINK: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/xenophobia] Reference.com It comes from the Greek words ????? (xenos), meaning "foreigner," "stranger," and ????? (phobos), meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe fear or dislike of foreigner or in general of people different from one's self. General As with all phobias, a xenophobic person is aware of the fear, and therefore has to believe at some level that the target is in fact a foreigner. This arguably separates xenophobia from racism and ordinary prejudice in that someone of a different race does not necessarily have to be of a different nationality. In various contexts, the terms "xenophobia" and "racism" seem to be used interchangeably, though they have wholly different meanings (xenophobia