yellow peril

American  

noun

Disparaging and Offensive.

1. (in historical contexts) the alleged danger that predominantly white Western civilizations and populations could be overwhelmed by Asian peoples.

2. the Asian peoples regarded as presenting such a danger.

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yellow peril British  

noun

1. the power or alleged power of Asiatic peoples, esp the Chinese, to threaten or destroy the supremacy of White or Western civilization

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Yellow Peril Cultural  

1. A supposed threat to the United States posed by Japan and China. The phrase arose in the late nineteenth century, at a time when Japanese and Chinese immigration to America was meeting resistance and when Japan was growing as a military power. (See internment of Japanese Americans.)

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Sensitive Note

See yellow.

Etymology

Origin of yellow peril

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Conservatives have been known to privately describe Lib Dems as the 'yellow peril', a backhanded compliment to their by-election savvy, energy and ruthlessness.

From BBC

The character embodied and perpetuated "yellow peril", the racist idea that Asian cultures threatened Western society.

From BBC

In the late 1800s, Chinese Americans were deemed the “yellow peril,” despite living in the United States for years.

From Seattle Times

During the yellow peril era, the notion that Asian men were feminine or asexual also took root, says Connie So, an American ethnic studies teaching professor at the University of Washington.

From Seattle Times

“Seeing us as the ‘yellow peril,’ blaming Asian communities for smallpox, tuberculosis and now coronavirus — this is a new chapter in what is an old story,” Au said.

From Washington Post