displacency

Etymology

From Latin displacentia, for displicentia, from displicere (“to displease”), from dis- + placere (“to please”). See displease, and compare displeasance.

Why this word is great

DISPLACENCY — [Noun] A lack of complacency or gratification; displeasure or dislike. From Latin displacentia, a variant of displicentia, from displicere ("to displease"), combining dis- ("apart, away") + placere ("to please"). Unlike "displeasure" (which spreads outward in broad strokes of annoyance) or "dissatisfaction" (which settles like a fog over circumstance), displacency is the sharp, inward thorn of ungratified desire. It is the restless tapping of fingers on a table while others feast, the hollow echo of laughter that excludes you, or the way a mirror reflects not just your face but the absence of what you hoped to see—a quiet indictment of the self, measuring what is against what might have been.

noun

  1. Lack of complacency or gratification; displeasure or dislike.“A displacency at the good of others because they enjoy it, though not unworthy of it, is an absurd depravity, sticking fast unto corrupted nature, and often too hard for humility and charity, the great suppressors of envy.”