Weltschmerz

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvÉ›ltʃmɛːts/

Origin

Loanword from German Weltschmerz, literally Welt ("world") + Schmerz ("ache, pain").

Full definition of weltschmerz

Noun

1. (sometimes capitalized) World-weariness; an apathetic or pessimistic view of life; depression concerning or discomfort with the human condition or state of the world.
• 1938, W.S. Heckscher, “‘Was This the Face…?’” in the Journal of the Warburg Institute I, â„– 4 (April 1938), page 297:Here we have it at once, blended though it may be with the new elements of purging humour and all-embracing Weltschmerz, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
• 1947, "Art: Berlin's Best," Time, 28 Apr.:Koerner's painting did have the heaviness, the harsh humor and the all-pervading weltschmerz which characterized German expressionism in the 1920s.
• 1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:A man-to-man touch then on his buttoned epaulet. A middle-aged smile full of Weltschmerz.

Synonyms

• acedia
• ennui