sonder
9.9
A sudden thought that every stranger has a full life like yours
- noun
- /ˈsɒndər/
- Literature
:
sonder
- While walking through the city, she experienced sonder, realizing that every stranger had their own unique story.
Examples
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Something I also wanted to address was the kind of lack of sonder we have for the growth of other people.
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Most dauntingly, though, we may have to stand face to face with the abyss which is Sonder again.
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As I watched the crowd at the festival, I felt a deep sense of sonder about the lives each person was living.
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The moment he looked at the busy street, he was struck by a sense of sonder, recognizing the complexity of others' lives.
How Profound
Surface Forms
Etymology
Sonder was invented recently by writer John Koenig to name the sudden feeling that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as your own. It sounds a bit like 'wonder', which helps you remember that sonder is that quick, surprising thought about other people's full stories.