yellow peril
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.38 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The alleged threat to Western nations by East Asians, especially Chinese or Japanese people, due to their vast population, non-Western cultures, or supposed antagonism to the West.
Derogatory; Offensive
noun
Alternative letter-case form of yellow peril.
Example Sentences
- "Perhaps the German Emperor is the only man who really believes in the “Yellow Peril,” and what is this “Yellow Peril”? The thought that the Japanese will get control of 500,000,000 Chinamen, arm them, and kill off the white men is so absurd that a child would laugh at it."
- "I cannot, after a survey necessarily crammed with conjecture, conceive that the Yellow Peril will devastate Europe, or endanger the East Indies, though it may change their populations."
- "As long as the United States remains committed to aggressive capitalism domestically and aggressive militarism internationally, Asians and Asian Americans will continue to be scapegoats who embody threat and aspiration, an inhuman “yellow peril” and a superhuman model minority."
- "It was such a journey as I had taken once before, early in our pursuit of the genius of the Yellow Peril; but this was infinitely more terrible; for now we were utterly in Fu-Manchu’s power."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: péril jaune