Addleworth

Cover image for the Addleworth word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Addleworth

adj.
unable to settle the question of whether you’re doing okay in life; feeling torn between conflicting value systems and moveable goalposts, which makes you long for someone to come along and score your progress in discrete and measurable units—points, dollars, friends, followers, or a grade point average—which may not clear up where you’re going but would at least reassure you that you’re one step closer to getting there.

From addled, muddled or unclear + worth.

Elsing

Cover image for the Elsing word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Hobsmacked

Cover image for the Hobsmacked word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background

Bareleveling

Cover image for the Bareleveling word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Thwit

close-up of a person with forehead wrinkled and holding their head

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside