Clowns and balloons go hand-in-hand and, for a child attending an event having both these elements, the fears might merge together. Pronunciation . coulrophobia (n.) "morbid fear of clowns," by 2001 (said in Web sites to date from 1990s or even 1980s), a popular term, not from psychology, possibly facetious, though the phenomenon is real enough; said to be built from Greek . It is said that the phobia develops in early years, when children are very sensible to an unfamiliar face in a familiar body. Symptoms of coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, can include sweating, nausea, feelings of dread, ... “But I wonder if that’s because this isn’t a phobia as much as a fear,” she says. For those who are comfortable with long words, the pronunciation is this way: hippo- poto- monstro- sis- cupid- ali- o- phobia. “You can put the suffix ‘phobia’ after pretty much anything and define it as a phobia. Learn more. “Most likely, people with this fear can just easily avoid situations where they encounter clowns. What does phobia mean? As phobias differ from person to person, so do their symptoms. Are you afraid of clowns? ‘Despite its name, there's nothing ‘cool’ about coulrophobia, or ‘fear of clowns’ for the psychiatric layperson.’ ‘And if he has coulrophobia are they going to have him interrogated by a bunch of guys in clown suits?’ ‘I'm writing an article on coulrophobia and scary clowns for my Feature Writing class at … This Site Might Help You. Coulrophobia has been coined as an informal term for severe fear of clowns. Coulrophobia means the fear of clowns. It is said that the phobia develops in early years, when children are very sensible to an unfamiliar face in a familiar body. ‘Despite its name, there's nothing ‘cool’ about coulrophobia, or ‘fear of clowns’ for the psychiatric layperson.’ ‘And if he has coulrophobia are they going to have him interrogated by a bunch of guys in clown suits?’ ‘I'm writing an article on coulrophobia and scary clowns for … Wikimedia list article The English suffixes -phobia, -phobic, -phobe (from Greek φόβος phobos, "fear") occur in technical usage in psychiatry to construct words that describe irrational, abnormal, unwarranted, persistent, or disabling fear as a mental disorder (e.g. coulrophobia definition: fear of clowns (= entertainers who wear funny clothes, have painted faces, and make people laugh by…. I have a deep fear of clowns. Many people experience discomfort with clowns that isn't a true phobia. Coulrophobia Definition All of us have fears or phobias, which are defined as persistent and irrational fear.