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.”

Addleworth

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

Etterath

a graduation cap and gown on a chair

Fitching

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

Hickering

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

Sitheless

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

Insoucism

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