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

Anechosis

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

The Giltwrights

Cover image for the The Giltwrights word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Catoptric Tristesse

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

Eftless

a person with hands pressed on a window

Achenia

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

Nachlophobia

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

Fygophobia

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

Ecury

a close-up of cave drawings and symbols

On Tenderhooks

Cover image for the On Tenderhooks word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows