jouissance

American  

[zhwee-sahnns] / ʒwi sɑ̃ns /

noun

French

1. pleasure; enjoyment.

   The chef’s original impulse for jouissance in food, as well as in life, came from his parents, who were always cooking and experimenting with different flavors.

2. the use or exercise of a right, especially property rights.

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Etymology

Origin of jouissance

First recorded in 1480–90; from Old French, equivalent to jouiss-, stem of jouir “to enjoy” + -ance ( def. )

Example Sentences

I’m going to say Netflix is basically plaisir and cinema is jouissance.

From The Guardian • Dec. 24, 2019

Instead of plaisir, it offers jouissance – the part of enjoyment that’s closer to pain.

From The Guardian • Dec. 24, 2019

Meanwhile, fifty years after the death of the author was announced and a century after Eliot’s belated obituary for Romanticism, “Tradition” still pulses with energy and life, what the poststructuralists would have called jouissance.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 27, 2019

Instead, I thought I’d concentrate on a strange malevolent jouissance.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2018

Nommer un objet," said Mallarmé, "c'est supprimer les trois quarts de la jouissance du poème qui est faite du bonheur de deviner peu à peu.

From Oscar Wilde A Critical Study by Ransome, Arthur