How to Use claustrophobia in a Sentence

claustrophobia

noun
  • She doesn't go in elevators because of her claustrophobia.
  • The novel’s sense of claustrophobia and dread left me afraid to turn off the light.
    — Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2023
  • That claustrophobia from those harsh tight spaces has stuck with her all these years.
    — Maggie Menderski, The Courier-Journal, 11 June 2020
  • Each show deals with claustrophobia in some way, either of a space, or of a mind.
    — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
  • The haunt will be zero-contact this year, so there will be no screens or claustrophobia bags this fall.
    — Briana Rice, The Enquirer, 27 Aug. 2020
  • Great fun for those with a sense of adventure, not for those who suffer from claustrophobia.
    — Glasgow, USA TODAY, 13 June 2019
  • There's things about his claustrophobia and this loneliness to him.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 17 Sep. 2021
  • Those with fears of claustrophobia and drowning should steel themselves.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 19 July 2017
  • Vance sits in a window seat, which is more likely to trigger her claustrophobia.
    — Evan Roberts, NPR, 24 Feb. 2026
  • The claustrophobia is matched only by the dizzying sight of the smoke itself.
    — James Ross Gardner, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2020
  • Raking light and a vertical zip of sky open up the claustrophobia of the city to distant dreams.
    — Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2021
  • And for those with claustrophobia or fear of being locked in, the rooms always have one unlocked door and are not cramped or small.
    — Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, azcentral, 2 June 2018
  • The filmmaker can explain where the sense of dread and claustrophobia comes from when watching the movie.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 14 May 2025
  • There was such a claustrophobic sense of life in those books, but this claustrophobia also felt safe.
    — Cressida Leyshon, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
  • Not claustrophobia, because my fear has nothing to do with the size of the space, but just not being able to get out of a place freaks me out.
    — Leslie Anne Tarabella, AL.com, 2 Apr. 2018
  • A week in prison for someone with claustrophobia seems a more serious punishment than for the rest of us.
    — Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 12 June 2024
  • When the deck hit a population of about 30, claustrophobia kicked in for me.
    — Dewayne Bevil, OrlandoSentinel.com, 22 Mar. 2018
  • While adding to the claustrophobia of the sets, working on these soundstages ended up being a bit like theater.
    — Sezin Devi Koehler, EW.com, 25 May 2024
  • Except for a few scenes, most of the movie takes place in the forest, feeding a subconscious sense of claustrophobia.
    — Travis Deshong, chicagotribune.com, 10 Aug. 2019
  • The claustrophobia of only one person, only one house.
    — Peter Larsen, Daily News, 7 Mar. 2026
  • This adds to Toni, Franz and Bo’s feelings of claustrophobia.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 19 Dec. 2023
  • The design of the show emphasizes this racial claustrophobia.
    — Hilton Als, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
  • The need to escape the psychic claustrophobia of technology looms large on this record, too.
    — Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2021
  • The claustrophobia—alleys that might be almost 900 years old that have never seen the sun since they were built.
    — Dodie Kazanjian, Vogue, 14 Mar. 2025
  • And somewhere along the way, the idea of the caving trip came into it — and then the claustrophobia, the creatures, all of that fell into place.
    — Rachel Handler, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2021
  • Either space will more often than not require a wait and has the potential to send those who are claustrophobia-inclined over the edge.
    — Lindsey McClave, The Courier-Journal, 30 Aug. 2017
  • There, Barrett felt their characters’ claustrophobia in a new way.
    — Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Nov. 2025
  • Besides these, the bathroom and kitchen are filled with sculptural counters and islands that mostly add to the claustrophobia.
    — Curbed, 8 Sep. 2022
  • Between the flashbacks and claustrophobia, anxiety is high this episode.
    — The Editors, Vulture, 22 May 2026
  • With a sliding door and a curtain, the pods can be closed for privacy (but not locked, which is probably for the best in terms of claustrophobia).
    — Julia Carmel, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'claustrophobia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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