sonder

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
7
Words With Friends
8
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/ˈsɑndɚ/
See all 2 pronunciations
/ˈsɑndɚ/ · /ˈsɒndə/

Definition of sonder

1 sense · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (neologism, uncountable)The profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passing in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it.
    “I had a sonder, a realization that the random girl sitting next to me inside of Starbucks might have a fantastic life or she might be dealing with a very ill family member.”
    “We need to have a "sonder" moment, where we realize that we aren't the only ones with feelings, dreams, regrets and hopes.”
    “I knew the feeling of sonder my whole life. […] Every time I stopped what I was doing and just watched people, this feeling of breathlessness would wash over me.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Coined by American author and neologist John Koenig in 2012, whose project, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, aims to come up with new words for emotions that currently lack names. Inspired by German sonder- (“special”) and French sonder (“to probe”).

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

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