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.”

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

Povism

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

Malotype

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

Mcfeely

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

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Volander

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