ressentiment

plural ressentiments

1. countableobsoleteuncountableObsolete form of resentment.First known use 17th–18th c.
2. countableuncountablesocial psychologyhuman sciencesA sense of resentment arising from deep-seated feelings of envy or hatred, leading the resentful one to blame it on an external agent.First known use 19th c.

   Historians such as Liah Greenfield and Daniel Chirot have attributed the major wars and genocides in the early decades of the 20th century to ressentiment in Germany and Russia.

   2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 632

   3 more examples

   When the weak call the strong evil the move is not merely defensive; it is also an expression of that peculiar malice which Nietzsche referred to as ressentiment. Those who cultivate humility and the other propitiatory virtues to cloak their weakness nourish an envious resentment against those stronger than themselves.

   1973, Philippa Foot, “Nietzsche: The Revaluation of Values”, in Robert C. Solomon, Garden City, editors, Nietzsche: A Collection of Critical Essays, New York: Anchor Books, page 157

   If his attack on Christian morality and on other moralities is going to be worth anything he has got to be right about the effect of teaching pity and justice — that it merely hides the ressentiment of the weak while it does injury to the strong.

   ibidem, page 167

   Those who subscribe to those “zombie ideas” are “suffering from ressentiment – a witches’ brew of resentment, bitterness, and rage that is causing them to hold mistaken values,” Andreessen wrote. “We believe we must help them find their way out of their self-imposed labyrinth of pain.”

   2024 December 5, Brian Fung, “Trump’s latest nominees are a gift to his wealthiest crypto boosters”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 09 Apr 2025