Starlorn

snow flakes in the dark

Starlorn

n.
a sense of loneliness looking up at the night sky, feeling like a castaway marooned in the middle of the ocean, whose currents are steadily carrying off all other castaways—entire worlds and stars whose only remnant is a scrap of light they flung overboard centuries ago, a message in a bottle that’s only just now washing up on our shores.

From star, a luminous dot in the cloudless sky + -lorn, sorely missing. Pronounced “stahr-lawrn.”

Furosha

a storm raging in the sky over a building

Nodrophobia

close-up of a stained shirt

Achenia

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

Wollah

a person with shapes raining on them

Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Starlorn

snow flakes in the dark

Evertheless

a person floating in water

Rookish

a stone tower with a person seated on top

Elosy

a blurry image of a person in a subway car

Arroia

people standing on a stage

Dystoria

close up of water drops on a window

Aimonomia

close-up of a plant with lights glowing in background

Moriturism

a person resting in the back seat of a car

Mogging Folly

a person sitting on a bench

Suerza

a tunnel with a light emanating from the end

Galagog

a person alone in a snowy desolate landscape

Nemotia

a city with clouds of smoke

Future-Tense

a person looking at their reflection

Rubatosis

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

Insoucism

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

The Til

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

Eisce

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

Slipfast

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

Lockheartedness

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

Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

Querinous

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

Ne’er-Be-Gone

Cover image for the Ne’er-Be-Gone word card on the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows