Fygophobia

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

Fygophobia

n.
the fear that your connections with people will keep dwindling as you get older; that one by one, you’ll all go flying off the merry-go-round in wildly different directions, sailing through various classes and jobs and interests, ultimately landing in far-flung neighborhoods where you’ll hunker down with your families plus a handful of confidants you see a few times a year, perpetually reassuring each other, “We should keep in touch.”

Greek φύγω (fýgo), I leave + -φοβία (-phobía), fear. Compare the Greek φυγόκεντρος (fygókentros), centrifuge. Pronounced “fahy-goh-foh-bee-uh.”

Fygophobia

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Pâro

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Holiette

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Wytai

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Kenaway

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Anechosis

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The Unsharp Mask

a mirror with a reflection of a person

Lockheartedness

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Latigo

aerial view of a city at night

Scrough

a person working on the sidewalk

Kinchy

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Mal De Coucou

a blurry image of several men

Star-Stuck

a man walking towards a door with a large question mark

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear

Catoptric Tristesse

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Aftergloom

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Tillid

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Xeno

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Vicarous

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Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Caucic

a close-up of a stone walking path

Mcfeely

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Anderance

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Exulansis

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

Clockwise

a close-up of flower along with polaroid pictures

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat