Knellish

a blurry image of a person lying on a bed

Knellish

adj.
afraid to relax your body and drift off to sleep because you can’t help but notice how much it rhymes with death—lying flat on your back, your hands clumped on your chest, trying to force yourself to let go of consciousness, knowing you’ll almost certainly find your grip again but unsure exactly how that happens.

Armenian քնել (k’nel), sleep + knell, a ringing announcement of a death. Pronounced “nel-ish.”

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

Indosentia

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

Midsummer

a person standing in a garden holding a clock

Winnewaw

a person wearing a party hat

Thrapt

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

Wildred

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

Yeorie

a woman with tendrils of smoke moving across her face

Rückkehrunruhe

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

Ameneurosis

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

Kadot

a person looking at an abstract spiral