Complex Emotions Vocabulary

pleasure derived from another's misfortune

“He felt a twinge of schadenfreude when his rival failed.”

Origin: German Schaden `damage, harm` + Freude `joy`

a quality that evokes pity or sadness

“The film's pathos moved audiences to tears.”

Origin: Greek pathos `suffering, experience, emotion`, from paskhein `to suffer`

having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas

“She felt ambivalence about leaving her hometown.”

Origin: German Ambivalenz, from Latin ambi- `both` + valentia `strength`, coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1910

mental calmness and composure in difficult situations

“He faced the crisis with remarkable equanimity.”

Origin: Latin aequanimitas `evenness of mind`, from aequus `even` + animus `mind`

the release of strong emotions through art or actions

“Writing served as a catharsis for her grief.”

Origin: Greek katharsis `purification, cleansing`, from kathairein `to purify`

sentimental longing for the past

“The old photographs filled him with nostalgia.”

Origin: Greek nostos `homecoming` + algos `pain`, coined in 1688 to describe homesickness

a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for something absent

“The Portuguese concept of saudade has no direct English translation.”

Origin: Portuguese saudade, possibly from Latin solitas `solitude` or solitudo `loneliness`

the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled

“The garden offered a sense of serenity amid the city chaos.”

Origin: Latin serenitas `clearness, fair weather`, from serenus `clear, calm`

a general feeling of discomfort or uneasiness

“A vague malaise had settled over the country.”

Origin: French malaise, from mal `bad` + aise `ease`, from Latin male `badly` + adjacens `lying near`

bitter indignation at unfair treatment

“Years of resentment finally boiled over into confrontation.”

Origin: French ressentiment, from ressentir `to feel strongly`, from Latin re- `intensive` + sentire `to feel`

anger provoked by what is perceived as unfair

“Public indignation over the scandal forced resignations.”

Origin: Latin indignatio `displeasure at the unworthy`, from indignari `to regard as unworthy`

distress or embarrassment at having failed

“Much to his chagrin, he arrived at the wrong venue.”

Origin: French chagrin `melancholy, anxiety`, possibly from Turkish sağrı `rump of a horse` (rough leather)