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.”

Ecsis

a hand holding a fossil

Ellipsism

a hand clawing at a wall

Angosis

a table full of food

Future-Tense

a person looking at their reflection

Grayshift

a spiral staircase from above

Starlorn

snow flakes in the dark

Aponemia

a group of people standing together

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

Adomania

a person riding a horse

Moriturism

a person resting in the back seat of a car

Aoyaoia

a person holding a guitar

Tornomov

a cloudy sky and landscape

Elosy

a blurry image of a person in a subway car

Achenia

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

Karanoia

a neat stack of white paper

Eftless

a person with hands pressed on a window

Irrition

a close up of a dandelion

Flichtish

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

Mcfeely

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

Hailbound

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

Star-Stuck

a man walking towards a door with a large question mark

Treachery Of The Common

Cover image for the Treachery Of The Common word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Innity

a neatly made bed with diffused light glowing

Nullness

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

The Mcfly Effect

Cover image for the The Mcfly Effect word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Chrysalism

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