This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
Published in 2006, the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrow is a unique collection of words created by John Koenig to describe complex emotions that people often struggle to put into words.
Sonder ¶
Sonder is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries, and inherited craziness.
Hanker Sore ¶
A hanker sore is the feeling of being attracted to someone so intensely that it becomes annoying.
Chrysalism ¶
Chrysalism is the amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm.
Occhiolism ¶
Occhiolism is the awareness of the smallness of your perspective in the grandness of the vast scope of the universe.
Kairosclerosis ¶
Kairosclerosis is the moment you realize that you're currently happy and consciously trying to savor the feeling.
Nighthawk ¶
A nighthawk is a recurring thought that only seems to strike you late at night, often related to an overdue task or a nagging guilt.
Pâro ¶
Pâro is the feeling that no matter what you do, you are always somehow wrong, crossing some invisible taboo.
Anemoia ¶
Anemoia is nostalgia for a time you've never known.
Jouska ¶
Jouska is a hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head.
Heartworm ¶
Heartworm is a relationship or friendship that you can't get out of your head, even though it has faded long ago.
Monachopsis ¶
Monachopsis is the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place.
Liberosis ¶
Liberosis is the desire to care less about things, a self-sabotage feeling that you want to loosen your grip on your life.
