Is there a term for hatred or fear of difference? Not necessarily limited to differences between people.
All I could think of was 'heterophobia' but that doesn't sound helpful
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2 Answers
Xenophobia refers to fear, hatred, or mistrust of that which is foreign, although it is mostly used for people from other countries/the ideals of foreign countries. You could say that someone is a bigot, meaning they are intolerant of ideas or people different from their own/themselves. Neophobia refers to a fear of anything new, but does not necessarily refer to a fear of different things. I'm not aware of any other English words that refer to a fear of that which is different.
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+1 for the fear of anything "new", because to be afraid of something new is to be afraid of the unknown, the unfamiliar, the 'strange' i.e. 'the different' Feb 4, 2018 at 9:32
Misoneist, one who is filled with misoneism, although not commonly used, best exemplifies what you ask.
Misoneism via M-W
A hatred, fear, or intolerance of innovation or change
Depending on context, you may also be interested in luddite, which references people who distrust or dislike new technology.
Luddite via M-W
One of a group of early 19th century English workmen destroying laborsaving machinery as a protest; broadly : one who is opposed to especially technological change: "The Luddite argued that automation destroys jobs"
Lastly, for someone who values the current over the new in a neutral connotation, you could use traditionalist.
Traditionalist via Vocabulary.com
The noun traditionalist describes a person who believes the old ways are best, like a traditionalist who favors writing letters over sending emails. Sometimes, though, traditionalist describes someone so rigid that any new idea sounds like a bad one, like the traditionalist attitude that kept some American colonists from joining the Revolution.
