ailurophobia
/ˌaɪljʊəɹəˈfəʊbɪ.ə/US/aɪˌlʊɹəˈfoʊbi.ə/
ailurophobia noun: an irrational fear or hatred of cats or other felines.
Noun
ailurophobia (usually uncountable, plural ailurophobias)
- An irrational fear or hatred of cats or other felines.
- Ailourophobia†, (Katiphobia, or Gatophobia,) is a typical monomania. The fear of cats in certain monopsychoneurotic and psychopathic persons dates back to the beginning of the life of the feline.1906, Charles H. Hughes, “Psychoencephalonasthenia or Cerebrasthenia Simplex, and Psychoencephalonasthenia or Cerebrasthenia Insaniens”, in The Alienist and Neurologist, volume 27, St. Louis, Mo....
- Whatever the cause there are many recorded instances of persons suffering from ailurophobia exhibiting symptoms of distress in rooms which apparently contained no cats; later cats would be discovered, hidden behind curtains or in closets.1920, Carl Can Vechten, The Tiger In The House, pages 62–63
- Synonyms:
- felinophobia, gatophobia, galeophobia
- Antonyms:
- ailurophilia
ailurophobia meaning in Tamil, Kannada, Persian and Thai
ailurophobia in Tamil
- irrational fear or hatred for cats
- பூனையச்சம் pūṉaiyaccam
ailurophobia in Kannada
- irrational fear or hatred for cats
- ಬೆಕ್ಕಂಜಿಕೆ bekkañjike, ಬೆಕ್ಕಿನಂಜಿಕೆ bekkinañjike
ailurophobia in Persian
- irrational fear or hatred for cats
- گُربههراسی gorbe-harâsi
ailurophobia in Thai
- irrational fear or hatred for cats
- อาการกลัวแมว aa-gaa-rók-luua mɛɛo
Synonyms of ailurophobia
Antonyms
Forms of ailurophobia
| plural | ailurophobias |
|---|---|
| alternative form | aelurophobia |
| alternative form | ailourophobia |
| alternative form | elurophobia |
Origin of ailurophobia
First recorded in 1905. From ailuro- (“cat”) + -phobia (“fear, hatred”), both from Ancient Greek.
Questions about ailurophobia
- What does ailurophobia mean?
- Ailurophobia means an irrational fear or hatred of cats or other felines.
- What is ailurophobia in Tamil?
- Ailurophobia in Tamil is பூனையச்சம் (pūṉaiyaccam). See Ailurophobia meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is ailurophobia?
- Ailurophobia is a noun.
- How do you pronounce ailurophobia?
- Ailurophobia is pronounced /ˌaɪljʊəɹəˈfəʊbɪ.ə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of ailurophobia?
- The plural of ailurophobia is ailurophobias.
Words near ailurophobia in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: ailurophobia (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-ailurophobia.wav.
Cite this entry: “ailurophobia.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ailurophobia. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.