Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Nodrophobia

n.
the fear of irrevocable actions and irreversible processes—knowing that a colorful shirt will fade a little more with every wash, that your tooth enamel is wearing away molecule by molecule, never to grow back.

Greek μονόδρομος (monódromos), one-way street + -φοβία (-phobía), fear. Pronounced “noh-droh-foh-bee-uh.”

Ellipsism

a hand clawing at a wall

Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Harmonoia

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

Tirosy

a close-up of a young child's face

Insoucism

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

Hubilance

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

Fitzcarraldo

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

Echthesia

blurry image of two clocks

Fool’s Guilt

Cover image for the Fool’s Guilt word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Keir

a snowy landscape with trees and a fence

Indosentia

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