Malotype

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

Malotype

n.
a certain person who embodies all the things you like the least about yourself—a seeming caricature of your worst tendencies—which leaves you feeling repulsed and fascinated in equal measure, having stumbled upon a role model of exactly the kind of person you never want to be.

Latin malus, bad + typus, a kind of sculptor’s mold. A mold is essentially a negative image of the object you want to sculpt—so if you’re trying to shape yourself, perhaps a good first step is to scoop away the negative space. Pronounced “mal-uh-tahyp.”

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Aulasy

a blurry image of a house on the road

Moriturism

a person resting in the back seat of a car

Addleworth

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

Agnosthesia

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