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schadenfreude

ˈʃɑːdənˌfrɔɪdənoun

What does schadenfreude mean?

Pleasure at someone else’s misfortune.

Schadenfreude, six ways

PlainPleasure at someone else’s misfortune.
ADHDTheir bad day, your small smile. Not proud of it.
Gen ZThat little glow when the show-off slips on the ice.
MetaphorA warm seat at someone else’s fire going out.
FormalPleasure derived from another person’s misfortune.
Like I’m 5Feeling a bit happy when something bad happens to someone you don’t like. That’s schadenfreude.

How to pronounce schadenfreude

SHAH-dun-froy-duh/ˈʃɑːdənˌfrɔɪdə/

Schadenfreude in a sentence

There was some schadenfreude when the champion lost.
A little schadenfreude when the tailgater got pulled over.
Reality television runs on schadenfreude.

Synonyms for schadenfreude

gloatingOpen, and meaner.
maliceWishing harm, not just enjoying it.
spiteActing to hurt.

Where schadenfreude comes from

German. Schaden, harm, and Freude, joy. English borrowed it in the 1890s.

Good to know

English usually drops the capital letter German gives every noun. It names a feeling people rarely admit to, which is what makes it useful.

Schadenfreude meaning, on a Gloss card: Pleasure at someone else’s misfortune.

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Words like schadenfreude

sprezzatura · reverie · sempiternal · saudade · apricity · fastidious · All 110 words

In: Untranslatable words · Words for feelings · Words with a story