Mesmerizing Words to Enthral Your Readers With
From The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Authors Note
To think it's been close to a month since my last Words of the Day Recap is astonishing. Time sure does pass at lightning speed!
These words had been invented by the writer John Koenig for The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, these words are meant to fill for the emotions everyone has felt but cannot explain. The project was launched in 2012, only 12 years ago, thus the words had not enough time to develop into what we would call an “official word”. That being said, I could not provide etymology for all words but gave further descriptions instead.
The words used are from the last week before my break. In such a case I also benefit from this recap as I've nearly forgotten these mesmerizing words.
Starting next week, the words of the day will pick up after the Sunday posts from the words used in the preceding book review. It sure feels great to build up my vocabulary alongside all my readers once more. What word could you relate to most? What was your favorite word? My favourite word was Gnache. What about you?
[06/08/2024]
Exulansis
noun[ek•suh•lan•sis]
The tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it
"Talking to a new friend group of 20 years brought about a frustrating exulansis that only lead to silence"
Etymology
Borrowed from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The full definition continued from above:
"—whether through envy or pity or simple foreignness—which allows it to drift away from the rest of your life story, until the memory itself feels out of place, almost mythical, wandering restlessly in the fog, no longer even looking for a place to land."
[05/08/2024]
Ellipsism
noun[ih•lip•siz•uhm]
Sadness that you’ll never be able to know how history will turn out
"Reading history books brought on nostalgia and ellipsism "
Etymology
Borrowed from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The full definition continued from above:
"— that you’ll dutifully pass on the joke of being alive without ever learning the punchline—the name of the beneficiary of all human struggle, the sum of the final payout of every investment ever made in the future—which may not suit your sense of humor anyway and will probably involve how many people it takes to change a lightbulb."
[04/08/2024]
Anthrodynia
noun[an•thruh•din•ee•uh]
A state of exhaustion with how cruel people can be
"After witnessing the street cats get scared once more, Lucy did not only feel disappointment but anthrodynia for a change "
Etymology
Borrowed from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The full definition continued from above:
"—freely undercutting each other in ways that seem petty and gratuitous—which can sometimes trigger a countervailing sense of gratitude for things that are kind, sincere, forgiving, or unabashedly joyful."
[03/08/2024]
Aimonomia
noun[eym•uh•nohm•ee•uh]
Fear that learning the name of something—a bird, a constellation, an attractive stranger—will somehow ruin it
"There was a sense of aimonomia once the name of the neighbourhood cat of years was finally discovered "
Etymology
Borrowed from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The full definition continued from above:
"—transforming a lucky discovery into a conceptual husk pinned in a glass case, which leaves one less mystery to flutter around your head, trying to get in."
[02/08/2024]
Kenopsia
noun[ken•op•see•uh]
The eerie, forlorn atmosphere of a place that's usually bustling with people but is now abandoned and quiet
"When she went back to pick up her brother she found the place was heavy with kenopsia "
Etymology
Borrowed from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The full definition continued from above:
"—a school hallway in the evening, an unlit office on a weekend, vacant fairgrounds—an emotional afterimage that makes it seem not just empty but hyper-empty, with a total population in the negative, who are so conspicuously absent they glow like neon signs."
[01/08/2024]
Jouska
noun[zhoos•ka]
A hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head
"Engaging in Jouska takes up the most time in the shower"
Etymology
Borrowed from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. The full definition continued from above:
"—a crisp analysis, a devastating comeback, a cathartic heart-to-heart—which serves as a kind of psychological batting cage that feels far more satisfying than the small-ball strategies of everyday life."
[31/07/2024]
Gnasche
noun[nask]
The intense desire to bite deeply into the forearm of someone you love
"She was overcome by Gnasche when he sat beside her"
Etymology
Borrowed from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows.
Mesmerizer: https://youtu.be/2c9FqIF600A?si=9JMxTFWgi2Ba0uoO
Adding these to my vocabulary.