A Neo-Modernist Lexicon for the Post-postmodern Mind

Since I’m building a whole new framework for myself in tackling topics in criticism, rhetoric, aesthetics, and philosophy, I decided why not make up some new words, too? Let’s see what we’ve come up with so far. This index of words created to try to name the currently ineffable in English was inspired by The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig. While I don’t think any of his words have become part of the English lexicon, which is a damn shame, I’m hoping at least one or two from this ever-expanding list may help you in your own personal lexicon.

Ineffable Index Count: 5

Anxure

• Part of Speech: noun
  
• Definition: A moment in thought when anxiety condenses into coherent, structured insight—a turning point from unease into understanding.
  
• Use in Context: “The anxure came suddenly, and everything I’d been resisting fell into place.”
  
• Associated Concepts: Philosophy, Self, Value

Fraydial

• Part of Speech: noun
  
• Definition: A thought or concept that unravels the more you engage with it, yet becomes truer in its unraveling. Often mistaken for contradiction, but instead reveals complexity.
  
• Use in Context: “The ethics of sincerity became a fraydial the longer I tried to resolve them into clean categories.”
  
• Associated Concepts: Truth, Criticism
  

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Lexigraft

• Part of Speech: noun / verb
  
• Definition: The act (or result) of borrowing the linguistic structure of one domain to express another domain’s ideas, often forcefully or imperfectly.
  
• Use in Context: “The report lexigrafted military language onto emotional development, which made it sound absurd but effective.”
  
• Associated Concepts: Rhetoric, Aesthetics
  

Speculine

• Part of Speech: adjective
  
• Definition: Describes reasoning or knowledge based primarily on speculative emotional resonance rather than empirical proof.
  
• Use in Context: “Her insight wasn’t factual, but it was deeply speculine—it vibrated with truth, somehow.”
  
• Associated Concepts: Philosophy, Aesthetics, Truth
  

Pragmachisma

• Part of Speech: noun
  
• Definition: The internal or external tension between functional necessity and aesthetic or intuitive desire; the clash between utilitarian solutions and meaningful ones.
  
• Use in Context: “The city’s layout was pure pragmachisma—efficient but soul-dead.”
  
• Associated Concepts: Aesthetics, Philosophy, Creation

Many new words to come.