Meanings
- no pluraluncommonSynonym of confelicity (“pleasure in another's happiness”).
To end on a positive note, let's talk a little about freudenfreude, which is the opposite of schadenfreude—it's the enjoyment of another's success. It's also a subset of empathy.
2021, Brené Brown, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience, Random House, →ISBN, page 361 more example
Finding pleasure in another person’s good fortune is what social scientists call “freudenfreude,” a term (inspired by the German word for “joy”) that describes the bliss we feel when someone else succeeds, even if it doesn’t directly involve us. Freudenfreude is like social glue, said Catherine Chambliss, a professor of psychology at Ursinus College. It makes relationships “more intimate and enjoyable.” […] While the benefits of freudenfreude are plentiful, it doesn’t always come easily.
2022 November 25, Juli Fraga, “The Opposite of Schadenfreude Is Freudenfreude. Here’s How to Cultivate It.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 24 Mar 2023Synonyms: confelicity
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of confelicity (“pleasure in another's happiness”).
Origin
Pseudo-Germanism, derived from German Freude + -n- + Freude, by analogy with schadenfreude.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
freudenfreude. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/freudenfreude
“freudenfreude.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/freudenfreude. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “freudenfreude,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/freudenfreude.
Source: freudenfreude on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.