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.”

Fitzcarraldo

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

Fensiveness

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

Suente

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

Fellchaser

a blurred shadow of a person in a dark room

Gaudia Civis

a close-up of a gear

Anticious

a group of men in hats looking at elevated signage