Rialtoscuro

a blurry image of a light source

Rialtoscuro

n.
the disorientation of stepping outside a movie theater into unexpected darkness—a twinge of jet lag after letting your mind escape to some other world for a while, only to be thrown abruptly back into reality.

Italian rialto, a theater district + oscuro, dark, obscure. Compare chiaroscuro, which describes a quality of visual art that emphasizes the contrast between deep shade and bright light. Pronounced “ree-al-toh-skyoor-oh.”

Adomania

a person riding a horse

Aponemia

a group of people standing together

Kadot

a person looking at an abstract spiral

Craxis

a tall house of cards

Hem-Jawed

an abstract image of someone touching their face

Nilous

a person standing at a bus terminal

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Starlorn

snow flakes in the dark

Tornomov

a cloudy sky and landscape

Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Karanoia

a neat stack of white paper

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Irrition

a close up of a dandelion

Ironsick

a group of random devices

Achenia

a close-up of a bottle with an organic object inside

Wellium

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

La Gaudière

Cover image for the La Gaudière word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Anti-Aliasing

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

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Ecstatic Shock

Cover image for the Ecstatic Shock word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Inerrata

a hand holding a broken cup

Proluctance

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

Ochisia

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

Heartspur

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