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.”

Tillid

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

Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Nighthawk

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Daguerreologue

Daguer-reologue

a man sitting in blurred silhouette at a desk

Thwit

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

Sitheless

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