schadenfreude

noun

scha·den·freu·de ˈshä-dᵊn-ˌfrȯi-də

often capitalized

: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others

Examples of schadenfreude in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In 2020, hundreds of Chileans were maimed during the violent repression of former president, the billionaire Sebastián Piñera, who recently died while piloting his helicopter, triggering a national wave of schadenfreude. —

Richard Villegas, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2024 Let the schadenfreude ring and the voyeur in you rejoice. —

Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024 This movie is why the Germans invented the word schadenfreude. —

Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the abandonment, if confirmed, will breed plenty of schadenfreude: billions spent with little to show, all the while pivoting to a different breed of Silicon Valley hype. —

Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2024 There are already three reviews describing the book as boring, which gives her the weak person’s thrill of schadenfreude. —

Hazlitt, 7 Feb. 2024 For San Diego’s schadenfreude crowd that enjoys seeing the Chargers lose, the good times may be less plentiful. —

San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Jan. 2024 But in the United Kingdom, where Eton serves as the ultimate symbol of the elite — Princes William and Harry studied there, as well as Boris Johnson, David Cameron and many other prime ministers, and pupils wear tailcoats — the situation was greeted with puns and a heavy dose of schadenfreude. —

Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 11 Jan. 2024 And the chairman of Toyota, which has opted for plug-in hybrids over all-electrics, is grinning with schadenfreude. —

Will Johnson, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'schadenfreude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.