schadenfreude
noun
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Ever a popular lookup on our site, schadenfreude refers to the joy you might feel at another person’s pain. It’s a compound of the German nouns Schaden, meaning “damage,” and Freude, meaning “joy.” Schadenfreude was a favored subject in Germany by the time it was introduced to English in the mid-1800s; discussed by the likes of Schopenhauer, Kant, and Nietzsche, schadenfreude was showing up in psychology books, literature for children, and critical theory. In English, the word was used mostly by academics until the early 1990s, when it was introduced to more general audiences via pop culture. In a 1991 episode of The Simpsons, for example, Lisa explains schadenfreude to Homer, who is gloating at his neighbor’s failure; she also tells him that the opposite of schadenfreude is sour grapes. “Boy,” he marvels, “those Germans have a word for everything.”
Examples of schadenfreude in a Sentence
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 17 Apr. 2025
Another way of positioning this reaction is as an example of schadenfreude, a term used to explain taking glee in someone’s suffering—and that’s a key reason to explaining why some people are reacting to the stock market dip in this way.
—Callum Booth, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
Some are surely enjoying some schadenfreude at Stefanik’s expense.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 27 Mar. 2025
But while Rice was subjected to schadenfreude from the away end, Scarles continued to show why the left-back position is in safe hands.
—Roshane Thomas, The Athletic, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for schadenfreude
Cite this Entry
“Schadenfreude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schadenfreude. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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