Nyctous

a person walking in the middle of a street

Nyctous

adj.
feeling quietly overjoyed to be the only one awake in the middle of the night—sitting alone with a laptop and a cup of tea or strolling down the center line of an abandoned street—taking in the world like an empty theater between productions, stripped down to a simple black box, open to be whatever you want it to be.

From Nyctocereus, a genus of cactus that blooms only at night. Pronounced “nik-tuhs.”

Anti-Aliasing

Cover image for the Anti-Aliasing word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Catoptric Tristesse

Cover image for the Catoptric Tristesse word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Monachopsis

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

Wytai

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

Amuse-Douche

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

Innity

a neatly made bed with diffused light glowing

Lockheartedness

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

Kinchy

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

Kuebiko

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

Momophobia

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

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear

Hailbound

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

Allope

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

Eisce

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

The Unsharp Mask

a mirror with a reflection of a person

Anecdoche

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

Adronitis

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

Aftergloom

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

Ecury

a close-up of cave drawings and symbols

Mornden

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

Lockheartedness

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

Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

Hanker Sore

Cover image for the Hanker Sore word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Blinkback

a wall full of pictures and objects

Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room

Rückkehrunruhe

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

Thwit

close-up of a person with forehead wrinkled and holding their head