coulrophobia

American  

[kool-ruh-foh-bee-uh] / ˌkul rəˈfoʊ bi ə /

noun

Psychiatry.

1. an irrational or disproportionate fear of clowns.

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Usage

What does coulrophobia mean? Coulrophobia is the abnormal fear of clowns. Some people have phobias, which are fears associated with specific objects or activities. These abnormal (unusual) fears are typically considered irrational (not based on reason) because the object of the fear isn’t usually harmful. Often, these fears are formed around a traumatic event. Many (most?) people have a fear of clowns, but usually it doesn’t rise to the level of true coulrophobia. Example: I could never go to the circus because I have coulrophobia.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coulrophobic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of coulrophobia

First recorded in 1980-85; coulro- (perhaps from Greek kolon “limb”; with the sense of “stilt-walker,” hence “clown”) + -phobia

Explanation

If the thought of going to the circus makes you tremble in terror, you may suffer from coulrophobia, an intense, irrational fear of clowns. We've got words to describe pathological fears of just about everything — and clowns are no exception. Coulrophobia is a new word, coined in the late 20th century. Etymologists speculate that coulro- may derive from the Greek kōlobatheron, "stilt," and -phobia comes from phobos, or "fear." So if the sight of those oversized shoes and bizarrely painted faces make you truly terrified, it may be a case of coulrophobia.

Example Sentences

Several students said taking the class helped them confront coulrophobia, or clown phobia.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 12, 2024

To do this, we devised a psychometric questionnaire to assess the prevalence and severity of coulrophobia.

From Scientific American • Mar. 7, 2023

Higgledy, piggledy, With coulrophobia Silly buffoons cause you Terrible fear.

From Washington Post • Oct. 17, 2019

Even McDonald’s has taken the drastic step of benching Ronald McDonald, its clown mascot since the early 1960s, in response to the burgeoning mood of coulrophobia, to give the fear of clowns its technical name.

From The Guardian • Dec. 20, 2018

With the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s “It” on pace to clean up at the box office and real life creepy clown sightings making headlines since 2016, it would seem that American culture has reached peak coulrophobia.

From Salon • Sep. 4, 2017