Meanings
plural claustrophobias
- uncountableusuallyThe abnormal fear of closed, tight places.
She complained of emaciation, nervousness, tenderness of the scalp, weakness of the back, claustrophobia, and other morbid fears.
1902 JANUARY, WM. BALDWIN KEYES, D.D.S., “Pyorrhea Alveolaris With Special Reference To Practical Medicine.”, in The Dental Cosmos, volume XLIV, number 1, page 42 more examples
The first scenes, which take place in a minitheater that keeps shrinking, will be painful for anyone with even a tinge of claustrophobia.
2007 June 16, Ben Brantley, “An Artist’s Look Back at Her Life, Now Ended”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 07 Jan 2020(Editor’s note: Those who suffer from claustrophobia, kabourophobia, arachnophobia or thalassophobia are advised to skip the above trailer.)
2024 August 11, Andrew Torgan, Daniel Wine, “Start your week smart: Gymnast stripped of medal, Brazil plane crash, Trump campaign hack, fighting inside Russia”, in CNN, archived from the original on 17 Aug 2024
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Latinclaustrum“a shut-in place”
- Englishclaustrophobia
From Latin claustrum (“a shut-in place”), from Latin claudō (“to shut, close; to imprison, confine”) + -phobia. First attested in the British Medical Journal.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan claustrofòbia
- claustrofòbiafear of closed, tight places
Chinese Mandarin 幽閉恐懼症 /幽闭恐惧症
- 幽閉恐懼症 /幽闭恐惧症 (yōubì kǒngjùzhèng)fear of closed, tight places
Czech klaustrofobie
- klaustrofobiefear of closed, tight places
Danish klaustrofobi
- klaustrofobifear of closed, tight places
Dutch claustrofobie, engtevrees
- claustrofobiefear of closed, tight places
- engtevreesfear of closed, tight places
Esperanto klaŭstrofobio, klostrofobio
- klaŭstrofobiofear of closed, tight places
- klostrofobiofear of closed, tight places
Estonian klaustrofoobia
- klaustrofoobiafear of closed, tight places
Finnish klaustrofobia, ahtaanpaikankammo
- klaustrofobiafear of closed, tight places
- ahtaanpaikankammofear of closed, tight places
French claustrophobie
- claustrophobiefear of closed, tight places
German Platzangst, Klaustrophobie
- Platzangstfear of closed, tight places
- Klaustrophobiefear of closed, tight places
- Raumangstfear of closed, tight places
Greek κλειστοφοβία
- κλειστοφοβία (kleistofovía)fear of closed, tight places
Hebrew קלאוסטרופוביה
- קלאוסטרופוביהfear of closed, tight places
Hungarian klausztrofóbia
- klausztrofóbiafear of closed, tight places
Irish clástrafóibe, uamhan clóis
- clástrafóibefear of closed, tight places
- uamhan clóisfear of closed, tight places
Italian claustrofobia
- claustrofobiafear of closed, tight places
Japanese 閉所恐怖症
- 閉所恐怖症 (heisho kyōfushō)fear of closed, tight places
Korean 폐소공포증, 폐쇄공포증
- 폐소공포증 (pyesogongpojeung)fear of closed, tight places
- 폐쇄공포증 (pyeswaegongpojeung)fear of closed, tight places
- 폐실공포증 (pyesilgongpojeung)fear of closed, tight places
- 밀실공포증 (milsilgongpojeung)fear of closed, tight places
Māori mae apiapi
- mae apiapifear of closed, tight places
Norwegian Bokmål klaustrofobi
- klaustrofobifear of closed, tight places
Persian تنگناهراسی
- تنگناهراسیfear of closed, tight places
Polish klaustrofobia
- klaustrofobiafear of closed, tight places
Portuguese claustrofobia
- claustrofobiafear of closed, tight places
Romanian claustrofobie
- claustrofobiefear of closed, tight places
Russian клаустрофо́бия
- клаустрофо́бия (klaustrofóbija)fear of closed, tight places
Spanish claustrofobia
- claustrofobiafear of closed, tight places
Swedish klaustrofobi, cellskräck
- klaustrofobifear of closed, tight places
- cellskräckfear of closed, tight places
Turkish klostrofobi
- klostrofobifear of closed, tight places
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with claustrophobia
Cite this entry
claustrophobia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/claustrophobia
“claustrophobia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/claustrophobia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “claustrophobia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/claustrophobia.
Source: claustrophobia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.