weltschmerz

/ˈveltʃmɛərts/

world-weariness; sadness over the evils of the world

weltschmerz in a sentence

“His poetry expressed a profound weltschmerz about modern existence.”

German Welt world + Schmerz pain, coined by Jean Paul Richter in 1810

Related Words

languor

the state of physical or mental weariness; listlessness

wistful

having a feeling of vague or regretful longing

plaintive

sounding sad and mournful

doleful

expressing sorrow; mournful

lugubrious

looking or sounding sad and dismal

disconsolate

without consolation or comfort; unhappy