Words that don't exist, but do to you

I frequently wish to use the word "confluence" to mean "a happy and pleasing meeting or blending of multiple ideas, concepts or modes of thought", but apparently this word doesn't really exist, or at least if it does, this definition isn't really correct.

Any words that you find yourself using or wanting to use but find don't exist?

This could also count for words like "nonplussed" (where the true definition is different from how most people are tempted to use it), or "supposably", which is not a word but gets used in lieu of "supposedly", possibly because it sounds correct to the speaker

some people I know still don't accept "alright" instead of "all right" and they should really get over this ASAP.

My mates and I use "pubbage" all the time for 'the act of going to the pub', as in "who's up for pubbage tonight?"

I've always thought that "headwear" makes a lot more sense than "headgear" and I am sure I have used it, but AFAIK "headwear" still doesn't exist as a real word. However, the makers of Richard Osman's House of Games used it (both verbally and on-screen) for one of the rounds a week or two back.

If enough people use "supposably" and the like they might get in the dictionary, at least the OED, which is as they are always saying, a dictionary of usage.

There must be a word for 'when something is easier to day and becomes the actual word for stuff'. This happened with "accompt" becoming "account" and (I am guessing, but it's likely) "fourteen night" passing through the awkward "fort'n'night" to become "fortnight" pretty quickly.

some people I know still don't accept "alright" instead of "all right" and they should really get over this ASAP.

Gaz Coombes would no doubt agree!

"Nachtmist" - the anxiety crap that churns around in your head if you wake up in the middle of the night
"Goochflex" - male pelvic floor exercises

My students use the word "touristic" a lot, afaik this isn't, or perhaps wasn't, a word, but I've accepted it now. I always thought the English word was "touristy".

yeah, have found that most continental Europeans say "touristic" - wonder where that comes from.

I'm almost certain 'touristique" is a French word. I have no quarrel with "touristic' instead of "touristy" - they have different connotations. "Touristy" implies crowds, money-traps, low quality. "Touristic" means "just generally a good place to go and sight-see or visit"

Long before it was used to describe knuckledragging MAGAnauts (although, to be fair, long after it was used to describe underground dwellers with cannibalistic tendencies) my college roommates and I had taken to using 'chud' in reference to the kind of barely-edible dish cobbled together out of desperation from whatever few ingredients happened to be in the cupboard and that would inevitably make its half-eaten way to the back of the refrigerator to be forgotten altogether until mold or general putrescence had settled in. The word doesn't get as much of a workout in my slightly less poverty-stricken dotage but it's still hung around.

xpost

French: Touristique
Dutch & German: Toeristisch/Touristisch
Spanish & Italian: Turistico

I frequently wish to use the word "confluence" to mean "a happy and pleasing meeting or blending of multiple ideas, concepts or modes of thought", but apparently this word doesn't really exist, or at least if it does, this definition isn't really correct.

I had to look this up as I use it this way a lot - while the dictionary definitions didn't specifically include this use, every single textual example they gave used it in this figurative way. So basically, we're fine.

my mum liked to use the word "praunce" instead of prance -- probably a mistake that she found she liked -- and i agree with her, it's a good word and we sd say it

My family have a couple of weird in-words (a familial idiolect?) that they use. One of them is 'segacerate' for letting tea steep - I actually have no idea how it should be written, maybe 'sagacerate' for a combo of 'macerate' and 'sagacious', as you wisely let the tea brew?