* Tentative name. Pronounced /ˈvaɪb.ʃəˌnɛ.riː/.
The Vibetionary is a personal project similar to The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows; it aims to give names to recurring thoughts and emotions in my life that I feel would be beneficial and forthright to give names to.
This project is the direct result of several changes of mind, philosophical thoughts, and newfound values I've recently had, particularly with regards to the meaning of “honesty” and how language can hamper it.
This page will be updated spontaneously as I find new words to fit the list.
Note that all IPA transcriptions follow Wikipedia's English IPA conventions.
Last updated: 2025-11-16.
bombepolie /ˈboʊm.pʊˌliː/ Adjective, of a person: Actionable, but only once a process has begun; talkative, but only once asked a question; like a landmine that sits alone, only exploding with the slightest touch. From the French words for “polite bomb.”
deresight /ˈdɛr.saɪt/ Noun: The unfortunate awareness that there are parts of your mind that are primitive and do not listen to reason, which means that full self-control requires wrangling them like bulls. From the combination of old English der (wild animal) and sight.
dothered /ˈdɑː.ðərd/ Adjective, of a person: Unable to decide between hedonism or duty--whether to enjoy one's life or oblige it to the world's benefit. From the combination of English doth (an antiquated form of “do”) and bothered.
mavelma /məˈvɛl.mə/ Noun: A concept that cannot be expressed because all of the words for it have ill-fitting connotations, like an impossible blue apple that does not exist but would otherwise have the same composition as any ordinary apple; e.g. a synonym for “knife” that sounds non-violent, a synonym for “lavender” that sounds dirty and grungy, etc. From a contraction of the Turkish phrase mavi elma (blue apple).
orange wall /ˈɔːr.ɪndʒ ˈwɑːl/ Noun: A very small appreciable aspect that is not usually appreciated. In reference to an essay, where I describe a time where I took peculiar interest in a college residence hall's orange walls.
pulyavpleche /ˈpʊl.jəvˌplɛ.tʃɛ/ Noun: A pain in your body so unusual that you begin to worry paranoically if it's indicative of a terrible health problem or injury, like a bullet in your shoulder that you brushed off long ago but is slowly infecting your body. From Russian for “bullet in the shoulder.”
quother /ˈkwʌ.ðʌr/ Noun: The sense that the potential expression in a piece of art is restricted due to its conformity to a convention. In reference to a poem, where it was devised arbitrarily to rhyme with smother and another.
raupoena /raʊˈpiː.nə/ Noun: A gross, learned insensitivity, as if you had dealt with some feeling for so long that otherwise-threatening doses of it don't phase you. From the combination of the Latin raubo (plunder) and poena (pain).
sesquiverse /ˈsɛs.kwiˌvɜːrs/ Noun: The universe that is identical to ours but with a certain very small alteration: you took the life-changing opportunity, he didn't miss the bus that one time, etc. From universe but with uni- (one) replaced with sesqui- (one and a half).
weggeworfen /ˈvɛg.gəˌvɔːr.fən/ Noun: A topic or point you held in your mind that you felt the need to mention later in a conversation, but discarded as the others in the conversation kept talking before you had the chance to, dragging the conversation somewhere else to the point it would be awkward to mention it. From the German word for “thrown out.”