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.”

Wenbane

a person standing on a ledge looking at a city skyline

Hobsmacked

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

Star-Stuck

a man walking towards a door with a large question mark

Burn Upon Reentry

Cover image for the Burn Upon Reentry word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Covalent Bond

Cover image for the Covalent Bond word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Pâro

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

Nullness

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

Xeno

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

Eigenschauung

Eigen-schauung

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

Latigo

aerial view of a city at night

Scrough

a person working on the sidewalk

Liberosis

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

Addleworth

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

Sayfish

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

Lap Year

several people racing bicycles uphill in a forest

Clockwise

a close-up of flower along with polaroid pictures

Kinchy

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

Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Ghough

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

Anecdoche

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