Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. sometimes capitalized World-weariness; an apathetic or pessimistic view of life; depression concerning or discomfort with the human condition or state of the world.
Etymologies
- Loanword from German Weltschmerz, literally Welt ("world") + Schmerz ("ache, pain"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Both girls seemed to know all the words and spelled them with few questions, until Fiola paused a long and hard before making the gaffe of spelling "weltschmerz" with a "v" ... when she knew it was German!”
“Considering "weltschmerz," which allegedly means world-weariness or hip ennui.”
“In John le Carré, of whom I'm a fantastic admirer, there was a weltschmerz that came from them knowing they weren't better than the enemy.”
The Guardian: David Hare: 'It's absurd, but I feel insecure'
“Lots of those German things like angst and weltschmerz came to mind when watching Match of the Day on Saturday night, particularly angst, which the Urban Dictionary defines as a "transcendent emotion in that it combines the unbearable anguish of life with the hopes of overcoming this seemingly impossible situation", and illustrates with a picture of Roy Hodgson.”
The Guardian: Roy Hodgson's scream for help was a Match of the Day masterpiece | Martin Kelner
“But you would have to be consumed with schadenfreude, weltschmerz or one of those other German things to wish that on any of the celebs here, who seemed pleasant enough in a telly kind of way.”
The Guardian: Channel Four's Famous and Fearless was utterly pointless | Martin Kelner
“This Dublin trio's Sting-soundalike leader, Danny O'Donoghue, says the follow-up to their 2m-selling debut was inspired by "the journey from a feeling of devastation in the pit of my stomach", which might prime you for Leonard Cohen-ish weltschmerz, rather than manicured Celt-rock.”
“And while anger, fervor, despair, not to mention weltschmerz and ennui we are, after all the party of uppity francophiles and -- apparently -- left-wing Nazi socialists are all common reactions to this undeniable setback for a progressive agenda, let me suggest another, less acknowledged reaction: comfort.”
The Huffington Post: Nicholas Brown: The Kilgore Trout Effect
“Ramirez was like a goddman wall, six four of muscle and urban weltschmerz.”
“I know we know this, but it bears repeating, if only to stave off weltschmerz and numbness.”
Ellis Weiner: The Noble Eightfold Path Away from The Path to 9/11
“Carmen Burkhart's weltschmerz is giving me a bit of a schwerpunkt.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘weltschmerz’.
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250 Spelling Words
A selected sampling of words for intermediate and advanced spellers.
orecchiette, rhabdomancy, guayabera, orthoepy, opisthenar, maguey, proem, ciabatta, cioppino, banns, concinnity, asthenia and 237 more...
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Five Consecutive Consonants
A list of words containing five consecutive consonants
I do not include words containing "y" as part of the 5-letter string, since that letter invariably functions as a vowel, as in rhythm. <...heartstricken, heartstruck, wellspring, offspring, yachtsman, worthwhile, backstretch, backstroke, downstream, downstroke, breaststroke, birthstone and 188 more...
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Uncommon words for common occurances
Weird terms and holophrases for various conditions, circumstances, and pursuits of quotidian life
aegrotat, kakistocracy, kerdomeletia, oniochalasia, adoxography, belaud, schadenfreude, hygeiolatry, limen, jamais, lypophrenia, potvaliant and 7 more...
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It's All Just Words.
quixotic, penisaurus rex, plibt, pot, polaroid, gemütlichkeit, hey! pooper scoop..., nowhere, anywhere, somewhere, elsewhere, wherever and 80 more...
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Auf German
Amish, Dutch, Alsatians, Swiss, Sprachens etc.
stopfgarn, remmidemmi, pfundig, prätentiös, gingernillis, knuffig, larifari, funzel, wonneproppen, blödsinn, knäppchen, gezóndheid and 23 more...
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Six Consecutive Consonants
List of words such as catchphrase containing six consecutive consonants.
bergschrund, Brennschluss, catchphrase, lightstruck, sightscreen, watchspring, weltschmerz, festschrift, latchstring, Eschscholtzia, sightscreens, watchsprings and 1 more...
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Exquisite Words
Words that need no description other than their own exquisiteness, either in sound or meaning.
effluvia, petrichor, velvet, leather, crepuscular, sillage, psithurism, strikhedonia, tibialoconcupiscent, tarantism, daduchos, umbrage and 14 more...
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Verecund, flivver, etc
Just some words I happen to enjoy. Some thread-worn, some not.
yegg, yob, verecund, amatory, fermata, threepenny, gruntled, flivver, gamboge, decolletage, ordure, nudnik and 173 more...
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Invisible Man
Words culled from Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison.
sweetback, inspirit, plasticine, atoss, hyperreceptivity, laugher-at-wounds, necrophily, monopolate, aliveness, thinker-tinker, weltschmerz, klieg and 113 more...
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Vega's Logophile Dictionary
Words I've heard/read in use, words being learnt, words that I want to eventually use in everyday language, words that are high-brow and elitist and scholarly and obscure, words that display the wo...
parsimonious, torpor, recalcitrant, plebeian, vitriol, gumption, augur, aestival, celerity, diaphanous, farrago, nonpareil and 287 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 2369 more... -
nominative case collection
wine stopper, pyre, roster, hamper, moleskin, elastic, pinnacle, facsimile, nook, plonk, contortionist, dismay and 342 more...
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There's a word for that?
temerity, tacit, froward, faineant, caterwaul, menagerie, ennui, sine qua non, lissom, multifarious, laconic, katzenjammer and 240 more...
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btkuhn's list
persnickety, perspicuity, perspicacity, augur, churlish, enervate, schadenfreude, esoteric, lionize, dispositive, capricious, bibulous and 129 more...
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bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1402 more...
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Infinite Jest
Words taken from Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
prorector, monograph, post-fourier, snuffle, rototremble, creatus, enfilade, subanimalistic, balletic, espadrilles, leonine, cirri and 1153 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for weltschmerz.

blafferty Does anyone know whether this form or weltschmertz is more common? Assuming they mean the same thing. May 2, 2011
Gexe Great word! Jun 30, 2009
milosrdenstvi now this is a good word. Mar 20, 2009
wookinpanub This is my favorite new word! Dec 17, 2008
smeggo I'm grieved that so few are familiar with the term. Oct 11, 2008
tankexmortis This seems to be used particularly when referring to the suffering of privileged youth. Aug 7, 2008
seanmeade mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state Mar 26, 2007