Proluctance

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

Proluctance

n.
the paradoxical urge to avoid doing something you’ve been looking forward to—opening a decisive letter, meeting up with a friend who’s finally back in town, reading a new book from your favorite author—perpetually waiting around for the right state of mind, stretching out the bliss of anticipation as long as you can.

Latin pro-, forward + reluctans, resisting. Pronounced “proh-luhk-tuhns.”

Fata Organa

Cover image for the Fata Organa word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room

Siso

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

Midding

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

Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building