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claustrophobic

claustrophobic

15 6.7
A small, closed space that makes you feel trapped
  • adjective
  • /ˌklɔːstrəˈfoʊbɪk/
translation icon : agobiante
  • The elevator looked claustrophobic and unreliable, so I took the stairs to the second floor.
  • feel claustrophobic
  • claustrophobic room
  • claustrophobic space

We are trapped in this tight little claustrophobic hallway and on the other side of the door is an infinite vastness.

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Examples

  • We all file inside, into the claustrophobic dark, easing onto the spongy wooden benches surrounding the hearth.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • The small office felt extremely claustrophobic, making it hard for anyone to concentrate.

  • You know, it's a little claustrophobic in here for me.

  • - It is so claustrophobic in here.

  • - It's very claustrophobic in here...

  • The room was filling up with children now, creating a claustrophobic feeling.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Now, the trip to the bottom takes about two hours, and it's cold and claustrophobic and cramped and totally worth it.

  • Tell me, Samantha, do you ever feel claustrophobic in here?

  • Some found the cities claustrophobic and everyone's business entirely too public.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Both of us preferred the claustrophobic, air-conditioned chill of the living room.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

cramped
vsclaustrophobic
37 3.2

A space that is too small for people to move easily

causes an anxious trapped feeling beyond just limited room
cooped up
vsclaustrophobic
  • Informal
28 5.5

Being kept in a small space makes you restless and unhappy

emphasizes the space itself causing trapped unease rather than temporary restlessness
boxed-in
vsclaustrophobic
7 6.3

Feeling trapped by walls or rules that stop you moving

refers to a space that causes those enclosed trapped feelings rather than the feeling itself
suffocating
vsclaustrophobic
1 5.1

Making it hard to breathe because the air is hot, close, or not fresh

produces uneasy trapped feelings rather than mainly causing breathing problems
confining
vsclaustrophobic
1 6.2

A space that is uncomfortably small and makes you feel trapped

is used when the space also causes strong feelings of being trapped
incommodious
vsclaustrophobic
  • Archaic
9.9

A room or space that is too small and cramped

suggests an uncomfortable size but not necessarily a feeling of being trapped
confined
vsclaustrophobic
3.7

Kept in one small space and unable to leave

focuses on smallness and unease rather than only being unable to leave

Antonyms

45 2.5

A large open room or area with plenty of space

18 1.0

An outdoor area with no cover

How Cramped

claustrophobic
15 6.7
roomy
24 2.1
spacious
45 2.5

Surface Forms

claustrophobic positive

Morphology

claustrophobic = claustrophobia (semi-transparent) = claustrophobia + ic

Formally derived from 'claustrophobia' + '-ic', but the adjectival use applied to spaces ('uncomfortably small') shifts from 'having a fear' to 'causing or suggesting that fear', so the relation is not fully literal.

Etymology

Claustrophobic comes from the same parts: claustro- 'closed' and -phobic 'fear'. That's why we call a small, windowless room or a space with a low ceiling 'claustrophobic' when it feels tight and makes people feel trapped.