schadenfreude
noun
satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.
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schadenfreude
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Schadenfreude
Schadenfreudenoundelight in another's misfortune
schadenfreude
American
[shahd-n-froi-duh]
/ ˈʃɑd nˌfrɔɪ də /
noun
Schadenfreude
British
/ ˈʃaːdənfrɔydə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of schadenfreude
1890–95; < German, equivalent to Schaden harm + Freude joy
Explanation
When another person's bad luck secretly makes you feel good, that's schadenfreude. Your brother's rejection from a college that also rejected you might give you a twinge of schadenfreude. If you're fired from your difficult job, no one can blame you for a bit of schadenfreude as you watch your replacement struggle with your old tasks. This German word perfectly captures that satisfied feeling everyone gets at times when someone else runs into misfortune. In German, Schadenfreude literally means "damage-joy," and it's always spelled with a capital S. The word came into English use in the 1920s, and you can spell it with a small s if you prefer.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Indulge in some workplace schadenfreude: Some people despise their jobs, but, for whatever reason, refuse to leave.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
From late-night talk shows to the halls of power, there was more than a bit of celebration, and some actually reasonable schadenfreude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
Outside it, though, the repeated collapses turned into a bottomless source of schadenfreude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
If the world was looking to extend its schadenfreude, Paltrow was all too happy to be the one to push it further.
From Salon ● Dec. 22, 2025
With barely concealed and gleeful schadenfreude, the Russians said that the Enron scandal undermined their confidence in Western accountants and the GAAP.
From Crime and Corruption by Samuel Vaknin
Schadenfreude isn’t listed among Airbnb’s amenities — but this week, it’s practically complimentary.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
And an absolute bummer for me and anyone else who really craved some Saturday night Schadenfreude.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
Schadenfreude was the community’s way to vent tension.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Schadenfreude would sustain a show for only so long.
From New York Times ● May 28, 2023
But the United States would be mistaken to indulge in Schadenfreude or to gleefully assume that it has finally succeeded in isolating the insolent French and the somnolent Germans.
From The Belgian Curtain Europe after Communism by Samuel Vaknin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
