Schadenfreude, as everyone knows, describes the pleasure some derive from another's personal misfortune. Is there a word to describe the possibly more common feeling of resentment at another's success?

The following lines chopped out of a poem by Swift describe it beautifully:



Edit: Speaking of Swift, there's an informal word used in Ireland for this: begrudgery. It was used on BBC radio in an attempt to explain why everyone in Ireland hates, hates, hates Bono's perdurable sunglasses.

http://onelook.com/?loc=rescb&w=invidia

For more, in OneLook's REverse Dictionary enter

resentment at another's success

Envy?

Why, uh...well, yes, Anna, "envy" is exactly the simple word that everyone here was seeking. But, uh, could not you have given your answer without being abrupt?
Your curt answer could have given embarrassment to some of us who had overlooked the obvious. We are not dummies; we just forgot.

One wouldn't want to, but if one didn't know better one might think that your answer was schadenfreudistic.

case in point

then there's the other complement of epicaricacy..

macarism (rare) taking pleasure from another's happiness

-joe (joy to the fishes) friday

Proponents of which are referred to as macarenas.

Hydra, have you found any other word/term? (there might be one in German, but my German isn't what it used to be).

invidia

noun
spite and resentment at seeing the success of another (personified as one of the deadly sins) [syn: envy]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Dictionary.com

Begrudgery--I love it!

Macarenas: HA!

EDIT: oops--sorry, Dale; I had completely overlooked (read: forgotten) your post. Dang it.

Edit #2--in the spirit of the above two words, I propose a new spelling of the word Dale and I found: envydia.

Just be very careful spelling this word - forget the first "i" and you have a registered trademark.

Latin invidia is the evil eye—keyn ahore—and the source of English envy.

I do feel a bit silly for overlooking envy, jealousy; on the other hand, these words (to me, at least) also imply desire: The resentment is centred on the fact that X has what you want. But, the lines from Swift notwithstanding (that's clearly envy), isn't there also a self-sufficient resentment of others' happiness? For example, X loves his job, is happily married, fulfilled, exuberantly satisfied with life. Y would not change places with X, but finds X's happiness inexpressibly irritating. Perhaps what I am looking for is a word to describe the annoyance caused by demonstrative displays of happiness... almost the failed attempt to arouse envy. This often happens when one runs into their ex, to whom you are forced to say (through gritted teeth): "I am so happy for you." (I always think of that song by Nick Cave, with the line: "It's good to hear you're doing so well / But really can't you find somebody else that you can ring and tell?") It is not so much envy as the clash of world-weary cynicism with Pollyannaism.

Edit: I forgot to mention: Bono said, of Irish begrudgery: "An American will look up at somebody living in a big house on a hill and say, 'Someday, I'm going to be like him'. An Irishman will look up at the big house and say, 'Someday, I'm going to get that fecker!'"