Meanings
alternative epicharicacy
- rareuncountableRejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others.
Synonyms: schadenfreude
Synonyms & antonyms
nounRejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἐπιχαιρεκακία“joy upon evil”
- Englishepicaricacy
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.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Latin epichaerecacia
- epichaerecaciarejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others
Polish Schadenfreude
- Schadenfreuderejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others
Spanish epicaricacía
- epicaricacíarejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others
Cite this entry
epicaricacy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epicaricacy
“epicaricacy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epicaricacy. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “epicaricacy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/epicaricacy.
Source: epicaricacy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.