Heartworm
noun /ˈhɑːtwɜːm/ — A worry that tunnels deeper the more you try to pull it out.
Definition
A small anxiety that lodges in the heart and grows quietly, feeding on your attention — the kind you can't seem to resolve or release, and that pulses softly when you're trying to sleep.
Beyond the definition
Every time you think you've let it go, you feel it again. Not loudly — just present. Heartworm doesn't shout. It settles in and waits. The only way through it is usually not to pull but to sit still long enough for it to lose interest.
Origin & history
Coined by John Koenig in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. From heartworm — the parasitic infection that burrows into an animal's heart and grows undetected.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
She carried a heartworm about the conversation she'd never finished.
Heartworm isn't the same as grief. It's smaller, quieter, more persistent.
Long after the relationship ended, a heartworm about it remained.
Synonyms
intrusive worry, persistent anxiety, rumination
Antonyms
peace, resolution, release
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Neglect in Unequal Relationship
One adult appears vivid and self-directed while their partner, holding an abandoned guitar, looks at them for cues in front of a mirror.
The partner’s washed-out appearance and the neglected guitar represent a quiet, unresolved anxiety. The partner's dependence on the other pulses softly in their posture, showing a small, persistent weight that likely lingers even when they are alone.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration