schadenfreude
noun
satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.
Jump To:
-
schadenfreude
-
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:
But there’s no schadenfreude watching her squeeze into a middle seat, no glee in her comeuppance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
On social media, the schadenfreude has verged on gleeful, with the public picking up on even the smallest references to confirm their priors and their thirst for justice is palpable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 7, 2026
But much of the film’s popularity probably stemmed from that reliable magnet of interest, schadenfreude, as the Siegels’ dream of living like American royalty ran aground when the Great Recession hit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025
But schadenfreude is the American way, especially if it happens on national television.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2025
This schadenfreude, "harm-joy" as the Germans call it, is not satisfying to think of for human nature and it has an inevitable reaction through the unfavorable suggestion of these crimes.
From Psychotherapy by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh
Schadenfreude was the community’s way to vent tension.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
The allies may come to regret their short-term Schadenfreude about Mr. Trump’s Hormuz predicament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
The other anagram of “Tár” is, of course, “ART,” and as real-life art monsters disappear from view, “Tár” offers up a work into which we can sublimate our own Schadenfreude and sympathy for abusers.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
Call today’s diagram a little bit of grandmasterly Schadenfreude.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 14, 2022
The curious and expressive German word Schadenfreude cannot be translated into any other language.
From German Problems and Personalities by Charles Saroléa
Definitions 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.
