ailurophobia means An irrational fear or hatred of cats or other felines. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why this word is great
AILUROPHOBIA — [Noun] A profound, irrational dread of cats. From the Ancient Greek αἴλουρος (aílouros, "cat") and -φοβία (-phobía, "fear"). Unlike the sterile, Latinate "felinophobia" or the societal prejudice of "misogyny" with which it is sometimes lazily conflated, ailurophobia is a private, visceral terror of the feline principle itself. It is the flinch at a soundless movement in a dark hallway, the revulsion at the vibration of a purr felt through a lap, and the paralyzing discomfort before an unblinking stare that holds ancient calculations—a terror born of the profound conviction that one is being calmly studied by a smaller, more graceful sovereign whose domestication feels like a tactical ruse.
noun
- 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.”