FOBO

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See also: Fobo and -fobo

English

Noun

FOBO (uncountable)

  1. (slang) Initialism of fear of a better option.
    Coordinate term: FOMO
    • 2016, Patrick J. McGinnis, The 10% Entrepreneur, Penguin, →ISBN:
      The whole thing actually started with FOBO, or Fear of a Better Option. It was the term I came up with to explain the fact that everyone I knew at school was always looking for something better.
    • 2018 November 13, Kate Julian, “Why Are Young People Having So Little Sex?”, in The Atlantic:
      [] others referred to option paralysis (a term popularized by Black Mirror); still others invoked FOBO (“fear of a better option”).
    • 2021, Sandeep Sahni, Sanjit Singh Paul, What My MBA Did Not Teach Me About Money, Notion Press, →ISBN:
      Try choosing a large cap mutual fund and you will experience a FOBO.
  2. (rare) Initialism of fear of bad outcomes.
    • 2021, Poppy Jamie, Happy Not Perfect, Harmony/Rodale, →ISBN:
      I have since adopted this strategy for myself to defuse FOBO. “Wouldn't it be nice if my presentation today went well!”