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.”

Momophobia

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

Drisson

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

Lackout

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

Fitching

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

Mottleheaded

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

Chrysalism

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