seeksorrow means A person who acts to their own detriment, contriving to give themselves vexation; a self-tormentor. It carries an Arena rating of 1779, earned across 33 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, seeksorrow ranks #69 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #232 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #372 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #376 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
Why “seeksorrow” is a great word
SEEKSORROW — [Noun] A person who deliberately seeks out or contrives situations that cause themselves vexation or distress; a self-tormentor. From the English verb 'seek' (to look for) + the noun 'sorrow' (distress, grief). Unlike a 'masochist,' who may find a twisted pleasure in the ache, or a 'pessimist,' who merely expects the storm, the seeksorrow actively engineers their own disquiet, sans the promise of reward. It is the hand that deliberately lifts to worry at a loose tooth until the gum is raw, the mind that rehearses a long-finished argument to sharpen its sting, the choice of the rainy, empty park for a solitary walk when the sunlit café is full of friends—a quiet, stubborn industry of manufacturing clouds for one's own sky.
Etymology
From seek + sorrow.
noun
- A person who acts to their own detriment, contriving to give themselves vexation; a self-tormentor.e.g.“In a bicentennial comment for Newsweek, he took issue with those who played the role of Seeksorrow. The Yale literary magazine had written him asking if he thought things were going to get worse […]” — 2002, Scott Donaldson, 9781463430856, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 301:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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