View synonyms for Weltschmerz

Weltschmerz

or welt·schmerz

[ velt-shmerts ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, German.

sorrow that one feels and accepts as one's necessary portion in life; sentimental pessimism.

Weltschmerz

/ ˈvɛltʃmɛrts /

First recorded in 1860–65; literally, “world-pain,” from Welt world ( def ) + Schmerz “pain”; smart ( def ) (in the sense “pain”)

literally: world pain

Have the Zeitgeist and the Weltschmerz and the other things compared to which ‘le spleen’ was gay, done so much for us?

The work which is presented in the following pages is intended to be a modest contribution to the natural history of Weltschmerz.

This is entirely compatible with the definition of Weltschmerz which has been attempted above.

The second bearing which his relations to Louise have upon his Weltschmerz lies in the fact that his love ended in disappointment.

Hence the difference between the pessimism of Ibsen and the romantic Weltschmerz of these uncritical minds.

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

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