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

Hobsmacked

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

Wellium

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

Mornden

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

Justing

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

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside

Kenaway

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

La Gaudière

Cover image for the La Gaudière word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Fellchaser

a blurred shadow of a person in a dark room

Watashiato

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