coulrophobia

noun

coul·​ro·​pho·​bia ˌkül-rə-ˈfō-bē-ə 

ˌkäl-

: abnormal fear of clowns

The term for fear of clowns—coulrophobia—is of fairly recent invention, coined, perhaps, as enough grownups found they were not alone in lingering childhood queasiness over exposure to big people dressed like Bozo.

—Richard Dodds

Brian Belden, a child psychologist at Children's Mercy, said there is such a thing as irrational fear of clowns (the clinical term is coulrophobia) that afflicts children and adults.

—Robert Trussell

coulrophobe

ˈkül-rə-ˌfōb 

ˈkäl-

noun

or coulrophobic

ˌkül-rə-ˈfō-bik 

ˌkäl-

plural coulrophobes or coulrophobics

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the man who created one of the most frightening evil clowns in literary history has admitted to being a bit of a coulrophobe himself.

—Rebecca Hawkes

More than 70 coulrophobics and parents complained about posters and bus ads featuring the head of a scruffy, smiling clown doll with the tagline "They know what scares you".

—Dugald Baird

coulrophobic adjective

Want to ruin your coulrophobic friend's day? Schedule a donut delivery from a scary clown driving an ambulance called the "emergency donut vehicle."

—Matthew Schniper

Examples of coulrophobia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some people have coulrophobia, fear of clowns. —Marc Bona, cleveland, 14 Feb. 2022

Word History

Etymology

coulro- (of unknown meaning and origin) + -phobia

Note: A word apparently invented in the 1990's. Various suggested origins for coulro-, as Greek kōlobathristḗs "stilt-walker" (attested only by the lexicographical collector Hesychius), are too phonetically distant to be plausible.

First Known Use

1998, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

coulrophobia

noun

coul·​ro·​pho·​bia ˌkül-rə-ˈfō-bē-ə, ˌkäl- 

: abnormal fear of clowns