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These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'weltschmerz.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The word weltschmerz initially came into being as a by-product of the Romanticism movement in Europe of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The poets of the Romantic era were a notably gloomy bunch, unwilling or unable to adjust to those realities of the world that they perceived as threatening their right to personal freedom. "Weltschmerz," which was formed by combining the German words for "world" ("Welt") and "pain" ("Schmerz"), aptly captures the melancholy and pessimism that often characterized the artistic expressions of the era. The term was coined in German by the Romantic author Jean Paul (pseudonym of Johann Paul Friedrich Richter) in his 1827 novel Selina, but it wasn't adopted into English until nearly 50 years later.
First Known Use: 1864
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearBritannica.com: Encyclopedia article about weltschmerz
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