Nemotia

a city with clouds of smoke

Nemotia

n.
the fear that you’re utterly powerless to change the world around you, looking on helplessly at so many intractable problems out there—slums that sprawl from horizon to horizon, daily headlines of an unstoppable civil war, a slick of air pollution blanketing the skyline—which makes the act of trying to live your own life feel grotesque and self-indulgent, as if you’re rubbernecking through the world.

Slovenian nemočen, powerless. Pronounced “nih-moh-shah.”

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Wollah

a person with shapes raining on them

Nilous

a person standing at a bus terminal

Ironsick

a group of random devices

Craxis

a tall house of cards

Kadot

a person looking at an abstract spiral

Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Offtides

close-up of a chromed metal object

Caucic

a close-up of a stone walking path

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Arroia

people standing on a stage

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background

Beloiter

a person sitting at a slot machine

Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

Suerza

a tunnel with a light emanating from the end

Amuse-Douche

Cover image for the Amuse-Douche word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Wollah

a person with shapes raining on them

Keep

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

Volander

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

The Meantime

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

Flashover

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

Tarrion

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

Monachopsis

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

Pithered

stacks of papers and folders piled high on a table