schadenfreude
Glee at misery
Schadenfreude is pleasure derived from another's misfortune—a German word adopted into English because no native term quite captures the concept.
The feeling ranges from mild satisfaction when an arrogant rival fails to darker enjoyment of genuine suffering: I felt a twinge of schadenfreude when my smug coworker got passed over for promotion.
Smug triumph display
- smirkPleased, superior smile
- smugnessExcessive pride in oneself
- satisfactionState of fulfilled desires
- delightIntense pleasure or satisfaction
amusement · snicker · chuckle · mockery · taunt · relish · pleasure · gleeful
One striving against others
- nemesisPersistent source of ruin
- opponentOne who contends against
- one-upmanshipQuest to surpass others
- comeuppanceDeserved punishment or rebuke
downfall · failure · humiliation · defeat · karma · hubris · arrogance · reversal
Petty malicious intent
- meannessSpiteful, unkind disposition
- crueltyDeliberate harm-causing disposition
- nastinessSpiteful or foul quality
- cattinessSpiteful, sly nastiness
venom · ill-will · pettiness · vindictiveness · hostility · bitterness · sadism · misanthropy
Resentful longing for another's
- jealousyResentful desire for another's advantages
- grudgePersistent resentment toward someone
- bitternessSharp, unpleasant taste or feeling
- begrudgingReluctantly allowing or giving
inferiority · covetousness · unfairness · comparison · discontent · animosity
gloating
Smug triumph display
- smirkPleased, superior smile
- smugnessExcessive pride in oneself
- satisfactionState of fulfilled desires
delight · amusement · snicker · chuckle · mockery · taunt · relish · pleasure · gleeful · mirth
competitor
One striving against others
- nemesisPersistent source of ruin
- opponentOne who contends against
- one-upmanshipQuest to surpass others
comeuppance · downfall · failure · humiliation · defeat · karma · hubris · arrogance · reversal · collapse
spite
Petty malicious intent
- meannessSpiteful, unkind disposition
- crueltyDeliberate harm-causing disposition
- nastinessSpiteful or foul quality
cattiness · venom · ill-will · pettiness · vindictiveness · hostility · bitterness · sadism · misanthropy · wickedness
envy
Resentful longing for another's
- jealousyResentful desire for another's advantages
- grudgePersistent resentment toward someone
- bitternessSharp, unpleasant taste or feeling
begrudging · inferiority · covetousness · unfairness · comparison · discontent · animosity
- Untranslatableshygge, wanderlust, hiraeth, wabi-sabi, gezelligheid
- German cultureOktoberfest, Bavaria, Bavarian, Berlin, Munich
- borrowed wordschic, naive, passe, avant-garde, faux
- German Loanwordsangst, blitzkrieg, doppelganger, gesundheit, kaput
- German Wordsdie, in, an, auf, von
- emotion humorcringe comedy, awkward humor, self-deprecation, nervous laughter, tragicomedy
schadenfreudecompassion
Concern for others' distress
sympathy · empathy · pity · commiseration · fellow feeling
schadenfreudegoodwill
Kindly, generous spirit
benevolence · kindheartedness · loving-kindness · altruism · magnanimity