Word of the Day: Weltschmerz

Word of the Day

Weltschmerz (n)

Sentimental pessimism

"Lilly's Weltschmerz, as Frank would come to call it. 'The rest of us have anguish,' Frank would say. 'The rest of us have grief, the rest of us merely suffer. But Lilly,' Frank would say, 'Lilly has true Weltschmerz....'"
--John Irving, The Hotel New Hampshire

I don't mind realistic pessimism per se, but I find people who cherish their pessimism hard to take. They get really angry when you try to make them feel better.