nosocomephobia

noun

nos·​o·​co·​me·​pho·​bia ˌnä-sə-,kō-mə-ˈfō-bē-ə 

: intense fear of hospitals

For long-term care patients or those with nosocomephobia—the fear of hospitals—nervous lobbies and antiseptic-slathered floors may make it seem as if the perfectly sterile white walls are closing in …

—Brooke Becher

Richard Nixon had one of the other fears with which many people can identify: nosocomephobia, or a fear of hospitals.

—Jess Bolluyt

nosocomephobe

ˌnä-sə-ˈkō-mə-ˌfōb 

noun

or nosocomephobic

ˌnä-sə-,kō-mə-ˈfō-bik 

plural nosocomephobes or nosocomephobics

I'm a bit of a nosocomephobic. I suffer from an irrational fear of hospitals.

—Brent Schanding

nosocomephobic adjective

nosocomephobic patients

Word History

Etymology

irregularly from Late Latin nosocomium "hospital" + -phobia — more at nosocomial

Note: The regularly formed compound from these elements would be nosocomiophobia, which is occasionally found.

First Known Use

circa 1958, in the meaning defined above