Hemeisis

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Hemeisis

n.
the off-putting awareness of how deeply your culture’s norms are ingrained in your psyche—arbitrarily defining what you find shameful and admirable, private and communal, attractive and repulsive, fair and unfair—as if you’d been programmed in a way that you can’t control or even perceive, until you happen to encounter someone who has slightly different code.

Ancient Greek ἡμεῖς (hēmeîs), we (excluding the listener). Pronounced “hem-ey-sis.”

Wenbane

a person standing on a ledge looking at a city skyline

Hobsmacked

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Star-Stuck

a man walking towards a door with a large question mark

Burn Upon Reentry

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Covalent Bond

Cover image for the Covalent Bond word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pâro

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Nullness

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Xeno

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Eigenschauung

Eigen-schauung

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Latigo

aerial view of a city at night

Scrough

a person working on the sidewalk

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Eisce

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

Hemeisis

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

Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

The Til

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

Thwit

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

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Solla, Solla, Solla

a hand reaching out for plant tendril

Moledro

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