This week’s theme
Phobias & Manias

This week’s words
monophobia
sitomania
ailurophobia
pyromania
claustrophobia


This week’s comments
AWADmail 825

Next week’s theme
There’s a word for it

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(klo-struh-FO-bee-uh)

MEANING:

noun: A fear of being in a confined place or a restrictive situation.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin claustrum (lock, bolt, confined place) + -phobia (fear). Earliest documented use: 1879. The opposite is agoraphobia.

USAGE:

“Part of the opera’s strength is the way it conveys the claustrophobia of life on a ship, says Sir Andrew. The stage is crowded with sweaty men shoved together in grim circumstances.”
High Notes; The Economist (London, UK); Aug 10, 2013.

See more usage examples of claustrophobia in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: