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.”

Craxis

a tall house of cards

Foilsick

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

Catoptric Tristesse

Cover image for the Catoptric Tristesse word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Nyctous

a person walking in the middle of a street

Heart Of Aces

a person covering their eyes with their hands

The Unsharp Mask

a mirror with a reflection of a person