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.”

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

Proluctance

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

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Nachlophobia

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

Amoransia

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

Los Vidados

Cover image for the Los Vidados word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Beloiter

a person sitting at a slot machine

Thrapt

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

Looseleft

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

Ludiosis

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