English, baby!

claustrophobic

Date: Dec 13 2007

Quote

1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.

“Home can be great but it also feels claustrophobic.”

- Icelandic musician Bjork on having the just the right amount of adventure. (Harp)

Definition

1. Definition - Study the definition.

afraid of small spaces

2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.

Any word that ends in “phobia” is describing a certain kind of fear. Perhaps you recall the movie Arachnophobia, in which spiders take over a town. “Arachnophobia” means fear of spiders.

Generally, phobias refer to irrational fears. For instance, one who is claustrophobic would be terrified to climb into a cupboard. There’s no reason to be scared of climbing in a cupboard. You could just get in, sit there for a second and get out and go about your day. But a person with a phobia can’t help his or her fears.

Unlike most other phobias, the word claustrophobia has a lot of other uses. Anytime you feel your surroundings are limiting you or holding you in place, you can say that you’re feeling claustrophobic.

Björk is a famous musician. It’s doubtful that her house is very small. In fact, it’s probably quite large. So when she says that being home makes her feel claustrophobic, she doesn’t mean that she’s a afraid of a tiny space. She means that home can feel closed-in and restricting to her. Sometimes she’d rather be traveling.

Almost any situation has the potential to be claustrophobic. A class that you’re in, your job, a friendship, a group of friends, your family, all of these things can be claustrophobic, though hopefully not at the same time!

Examples

1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.

“Please, don’t ask me to hide in the closet! I’m claustrophobic.”

Winners

1. Winners - See who guessed the slang definition correctly.

	it means fear of enclosed spaces.. by Kanaobi
	Uncomfortably closed or hemmed in by liru
	it can be a really small place where you feel trapped in a metaphorical way. by MFZChabel
	Yes, every day whin I stay in my home I feel claustrophobic I love outgoing with my friends and I enjoy to go out by winer129
	fear of being closed in, not having an escape route, being trapped. by omar_beyaty
	feeling of being in a closed in place, by bob_usa_brazil
	it means pertaining to an abnormal fear of being in narrow or enclosed spaces or it may even mean uncomfortably closed or hemmed in by sagarmhetre
	Great fear of confined spaces。 by rainstrs
	If someone is 'claustrophobic' they are frightened of small spaces. I think it means an home can be great but it doesn't give you any well-being. by Aurélie_358
	to be restricted by ali_5242
	like trapped in a small place by m@nuelm@d
	uncomfortably confined or crowded. e.g. a claustrophobic little room. by Xxxx
	Closed up,no space, by Rehema86
	scared of little space by doods
	uncomfortably closed or hemmed in; abnormally afraid of closed-in places. by babyxiao

Want to guess next week's slang?

Go Super to Ask Ebaby! teachers your questions!

The iTEP^® test

Sponsored by

Schedule an iTEP^® test and take the official English Practice Test.
Take Now >

Comments

< Previous
21 through 40 of 51
Next >
1 2 3

Reuben Jumbo

Nigeria

could it be fear for end of anything that is not condusive from the very biginning?

syant

Indonesia

Sometimes i feel claustrophobic at my workplace

xiaobaiyun

China

Picture as the star of our country zhangmanyu…

disbird

China

i dont’t know

sharlotta80

Uzbekistan

extremely afraid of small, enclosed spaces. Claustrophobic is used smth that makes you feel afraid in this way

Leta

Ethiopia

yes i am read to help

indiana_lau

China

hello? anyone here?

nryman

Turkey

suitable for use in class and for the real life

hajiseyed

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

fear of limitting but not essentially in a closed place.
its a sense not a physical subject

abdeeq

Somalia

feeling !!

liheping

China

yes,claustrophobia is a very important psychological term. it refers to some kind of condition that an individual is afraid of “sapce”. but in daily life, we can use this word in formal situation. forexample, you can feel very clausetrophobic when you have been home for one mouth, you should go outside.

riaddz

Algeria

hello

Steelheart

Indonesia

Boring with something can be said claustrophobic.

guoqi

China

in the soceity full of competition and pressure, job is only a tool for some people to earn his or her lives.when they enter offices,they feel they are limitted by the atmosphere. their surrounding make they unpleasant bored,and impatient,even furied easily. so they are claustrophic. in my opinion, it is unusally. long time to endure that feeling will make people terrible and grey. every living person has its problem to survive.we cann’t control the tough time, but we can change the way to perceive it.if you indulge yourself in the alcohol, drug and inferior entainment,maybe you get the resolving and relax from it,but you shoule realize it is permenant ,not lasting long time,your positive attitude makes you run into a trap,your degenarating make things badder. you are opposed to take the initiate to tackle it utill you resolve it, then you get the wonderfully achieving feeling.
it is the passive method to deal with the tough time.

hades

China

many people think it just in small room will feels claustrophobic,but sometimes in the big house,i feels claustrophobic bcoz the house is too huge so i think some invisible things in it.lol.

love story 111

Saudi Arabia

hi iwant to learne english
thanks

Nicole Wan

China

I think it is kind of circumstance or relationship that limit your freedom of movement or thought. Under some serious condition it may make you feel like asphyxia