Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Knellish

adj.
afraid to relax your body and drift off to sleep because you can’t help but notice how much it rhymes with death—lying flat on your back, your hands clumped on your chest, trying to force yourself to let go of consciousness, knowing you’ll almost certainly find your grip again but unsure exactly how that happens.

Armenian քնել (k’nel), sleep + knell, a ringing announcement of a death. Pronounced “nel-ish.”

Amoransia

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

Plata Rasa

Cover image for the Plata Rasa word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Star-Stuck

a man walking towards a door with a large question mark

Heartspur

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

Momophobia

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