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Hydra Offline OP
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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:

Quote:
If in a battle you should find
One, whom you love of all mankind,
Had some heroic action done,
A champion kill'd, or trophy won;
Rather than thus be over-topt,
Would you not wish his laurels cropt?

...

What poet would not grieve to see
His brethren write as well as he?
But, rather than they should excel,
Would wish his rivals all in hell?

...

In Pope I cannot read a line,
But with a sigh I wish it mine;
When he can in one couplet fix
More sense than I can do in six;
It gives me such a jealous fit,
I cry, "Pox take him and his wit!"
I grieve to be outdone by Gay
In my own humourous biting way.
Arbuthnot is no more my friend,
Who dares to irony pretend,
Which I was born to introduce,
Refin'd it first, and shew'd its use.
St. John, as well as Pulteney, knows
That I had some repute for prose;
And, till they drove me out of date,
Could maul a minister of state.
If they have mortifyed my pride,
And made me throw my pen aside;
If with such talents Heaven has bless'd 'em,
Have I not reason to detest 'em?

To all my foes, dear Fortune, send
Thy gifts; but never to my friend:
I tamely can endure the first:
But this with envy makes me burst.



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.

Last edited by Hydra; 08/05/07 09:32 AM.
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http://onelook.com/?loc=rescb&w=invidia

For more, in OneLook's REverse Dictionary enter

resentment at another's success


dalehileman
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Envy?

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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.

Last edited by themilum; 08/05/07 09:32 PM.
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case in point

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then there's the other complement of epicaricacy..

macarism (rare) taking pleasure from another's happiness

-joe (joy to the fishes) friday

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Originally Posted By: tsuwm
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.

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

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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.

Last edited by Jackie; 08/10/07 03:32 PM.
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Originally Posted By: Jackie
[color:#990000]invidia

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


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

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