--- product_id: 423978506 title: "The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" price: "€ 30.03" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/423978506-the-dictionary-of-obscure-sorrows store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows **Price:** € 30.03 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - **How much does it cost?** € 30.03 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/423978506-the-dictionary-of-obscure-sorrows) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “It’s undeniably thrilling to find words for our strangest feelings…Koenig casts light into lonely corners of human experience…An enchanting book. “ —The Washington Post A truly original book in every sense of the word, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows poetically defines emotions that we all feel but don’t have the words to express—until now. Have you ever wondered about the lives of each person you pass on the street, realizing that everyone is the main character in their own story, each living a life as vivid and complex as your own? That feeling has a name: “sonder.” Or maybe you’ve watched a thunderstorm roll in and felt a primal hunger for disaster, hoping it would shake up your life. That’s called “lachesism.” Or you were looking through old photos and felt a pang of nostalgia for a time you’ve never actually experienced. That’s “anemoia.” If you’ve never heard of these terms before, that’s because they didn’t exist until John Koenig set out to fill the gaps in our language of emotion. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows “creates beautiful new words that we need but do not yet have,” says John Green, bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars. By turns poignant, relatable, and mind-bending, the definitions include whimsical etymologies drawn from languages around the world, interspersed with otherworldly collages and lyrical essays that explore forgotten corners of the human condition—from “astrophe,” the longing to explore beyond the planet Earth, to “zenosyne,” the sense that time keeps getting faster. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is for anyone who enjoys a shift in perspective, pondering the ineffable feelings that make up our lives. With a gorgeous package and beautiful illustrations throughout, this is the perfect gift for creatives, word nerds, and human beings everywhere. Review: A Great Read - The read was great, just a reminder the words in this dictionary are not the ones that actually exist in english language rather more so words that should be or could have been a part of the language as there are so many emotions we are not able to convey due to lack of words, helps we rethink emotions you once felt but couldn't not name. Review: Strongly recommended - Have you ever come across a situation that just didn’t have an exact word that defined it? Try this book. Strongly recommended. We all live fairly complicated lives and sometimes we need help to decode it. To put our feelings into words so that those words, now powerful enough to survive like a well-fed Voldemort, can challenge the world order. Or the exact opposite. We need our manifestations to have a size and shape and form like that of words and this is where this book will come handy. Every page is a revelation, throwing another win at the reader, in terms of conveying the precise feeling. And that makes it my most highlighted book of the year with almost every second paragraph underlined for posterity. May have to read again or many times over. Putting few samples below. — Star-stuck adj. :: exhausted by endless reviews and secondhand impressions; itching to stumble blindly into the world and make some mistakes, to wander around opening doors to restaurants and performances and movies you’ve never heard of, without the slightest idea of what to expect. Ludiosis n. the sense that you’re just making it up as you go along—knowing that if someone asked why you do most things, you couldn’t really come up with a convincing explanation. — ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #10,516 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #9 in Word Lists #25 in Linguistics (Books) #43 in Essays (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 3,588 Reviews | ## Images ![The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81GIGI4sJIL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Great Read *by N***A on 27 July 2026* The read was great, just a reminder the words in this dictionary are not the ones that actually exist in english language rather more so words that should be or could have been a part of the language as there are so many emotions we are not able to convey due to lack of words, helps we rethink emotions you once felt but couldn't not name. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strongly recommended *by I***S on 19 May 2023* Have you ever come across a situation that just didn’t have an exact word that defined it? Try this book. Strongly recommended. We all live fairly complicated lives and sometimes we need help to decode it. To put our feelings into words so that those words, now powerful enough to survive like a well-fed Voldemort, can challenge the world order. Or the exact opposite. We need our manifestations to have a size and shape and form like that of words and this is where this book will come handy. Every page is a revelation, throwing another win at the reader, in terms of conveying the precise feeling. And that makes it my most highlighted book of the year with almost every second paragraph underlined for posterity. May have to read again or many times over. Putting few samples below. — Star-stuck adj. :: exhausted by endless reviews and secondhand impressions; itching to stumble blindly into the world and make some mistakes, to wander around opening doors to restaurants and performances and movies you’ve never heard of, without the slightest idea of what to expect. Ludiosis n. the sense that you’re just making it up as you go along—knowing that if someone asked why you do most things, you couldn’t really come up with a convincing explanation. — ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An expression of obscure pleasure. *by N***A on 21 July 2024* This was a book I was following since it's phase of inception. The regular on line discussion used to generate a lot of curiosity. When I found it in it's definitive form I placed my order to have a personal one. The size of the book is very handy and it is in my travel bag to read it on transit and travel. This is a book not to finish in a hurry but to enjoy the company of every single beautiful word where each of them are creating a sanctuary of emotion around themselves. But it is never a cocoon but a transparent bubble of rainbow. Now it rains in Kolkata. I find this opportunity to savoir a few of the nuggets of unusual words in an atmosphere of shrouded melancholy. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - Dictionary of Fine Distinctions: Nuances, Niceties, and Subtle Shades of Meaning - Dictionary of the Rare, Creative, and Beautiful: Words for Writers, Poets & Dreamers --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/423978506-the-dictionary-of-obscure-sorrows](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/423978506-the-dictionary-of-obscure-sorrows) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-10-07*