Bareleveling

Bareleveling

v.
trying to improve yourself without anyone else knowing about it, afraid that they’ll think it’s silly or grandiose or unnecessary, or that they’ll end up calling too much attention to your efforts, transforming a casual tweak into a flashy rebranding campaign.

Armenian բարելավվել (barelavvel), to become better. Pronounced “bair-lev-uhl-ing.”

Aftergloom

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

Alpha Exposure

a close-up of a baby with diffusion filter

Affogatia

miscellaneous items on a table

Jouska

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

The Wends

Cover image for the The Wends word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Kadot

a person looking at an abstract spiral