Craxis

a tall house of cards

Craxis

n.
the unease of knowing how quickly your circumstances could change on you—that no matter how carefully you shape your life into what you want it to be, the whole thing could be overturned in an instant, with little more than a single word, a single step, a phone call out of the blue, and by the end of next week you might already be looking back on this morning as if it were a million years ago, a poignant last hurrah of normal life.

Latin crāstinō diē, tomorrow + praxis, the process of turning theory into reality. Pronounced “krak-sis.”

Ellipsism

a hand clawing at a wall

Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Boorance

a group of objects on a table

Los Vidados

Cover image for the Los Vidados word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Amentalio

a person in a white dress, facing away

Beloiter

a person sitting at a slot machine

Loss Of Backing

Cover image for the Loss Of Backing word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Keta

a hand reaching through paper with a flower drawing

Tirosy

a close-up of a young child's face

Kenaway

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

Fensiveness

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