sonder

[ son-der ]

noun

1. the feeling one has on realizing that every other individual one sees has a life as full and real as one’s own, in which they are the central character and others, including oneself, have secondary or insignificant roles:

   In a state of sonder, each of us is at once a hero, a supporting cast member, and an extra in overlapping stories.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sonder¹

Coined in 2012 by U.S. writer John Koenig in his blog The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows; perhaps partly based on French sonder “to probe, plumb,” of unclear origin, apparently either akin to sound ³( def ), sound ⁴( def ) or from Vulgar Latin subundāre (unrecorded) “to dive, plunge” (ultimately from sub sub- ( def ) + unda “wave”); perhaps partly based on German sonder- “separate, special” ( sundry ( def ) )

Example Sentences

Als die sonder zweifel die welsche bibel 'El principe Macchiavelli' auch studirt.

From Project Gutenberg

Also some triangles haue all righte lynes and they be distincted in sonder by their angles, or corners.

From Project Gutenberg

The horse presently did throughe him of his backe against a poste & clave his hed in sonder.

From Project Gutenberg

Na den loon onthaelde sy hem dien nacht heel wel, sonder dat sy haer tot slapen begaf.

From Project Gutenberg

And God sayd: let there be a fyrmament betwene the waters/ d let it devyde the waters a sonder.

From Project Gutenberg