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.”

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Galagog

a person alone in a snowy desolate landscape

Boorance

a group of objects on a table

Nemotia

a city with clouds of smoke

Beloiter

a person sitting at a slot machine

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear

Lilo

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

Mauerbauertraurigkeit

Mauerbauer-traurigkeit

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

Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Covalent Bond

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

Cullaways

a lone sand castle on a beach at low tide

Nilous

a person standing at a bus terminal

Hobsmacked

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