Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Rasque

n.
a moment you instantly wish you could take back, feeling a pulse of dread right after crossing the point of no return—a blurted confession, a hurled insult, a final decision you’d been waffling over for months— wanting to take just one step backward in time, reverting to the way things used to be, in the halcyon days of just a minute ago.

From rue, to regret + bourrasque, a tempest. Pronounced “rask.”

Kuebiko

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

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Xeno

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

Aoyaoia

a person holding a guitar

The Whipgraft Delusion

Cover image for the The Whipgraft Delusion word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows