epicaricacy

/ˌɛpɪˈkæɹɪkəsi/

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἐπιχαιρεκακία (epikhairekakía, “joy upon evil”). The word appears in most of the editions of Nathaniel Bailey's dictionary and many dictionaries that came after. Linguist Joseph T. Shipley included it in his Dictionary of Early English (1963), citing Bailey. Evidence of actual usage seems scant until it was picked up by various "interesting word" websites around the turn of the twenty-first century.

epicaricacy means rejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

epicaricacy is pronounced /ˌɛpɪˈkæɹɪkəsi/.

Why “epicaricacy” is a great word

EPICARICACY — [Noun] The act of taking pleasure in another's misfortune. From Ancient Greek ἐπιχαιρεκακία (epikhairekakía, "joy upon evil"), from ἐπί (epi, "upon") + χαίρω (khairō, "rejoice") + κακός (kakos, "evil"). Appeared in lexicographer Nathaniel Bailey's dictionaries in the 18th century; popularized in modern times through lists of obscure words. Unlike compassion, which moves toward another's pain, or schadenfreude, its familiar German counterpart, epicaricacy is the stark, clinical term for a guilty reflex. It is the stifled smirk at a rival's public stumble, the private warmth felt upon an enemy's demotion, and the secret savoring of a downfall too precise to be chance—a word so perfectly fashioned for our darker impulses that its obscurity feels like a quiet, collective act of denial.

noun

Rejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others.