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A word to decribes the desire to want tragedy to occur

English Language & Usage Asked by Rami on March 29, 2021

Is there a possible word that describes a want for a tragic event to occur. Like a death of someone close. I have only gotten a few close words but they don’t really satisfy what I’m trying to describe. (Catharsis, depressed, melancholy, masochist)

4 Answers

From your terms it is apparent that your consider a state of mind totally independent of any local context of hatred such as one in which the desire, more or less deep, can be given some degree of credit because of imprecations and menaces to the people being hated.

This type of behaviour is probably considered more appropriately from the psychiatric point of view, as the particular mental activity being associated with it is akin to affections such as kleptomania, pyromania, and other rare and bizarre personality disorders, psychopathy for instance. The terms "Catharsis", "depressed", "melancholy", "masochist" are not at all descriptive of this affection; either they have nothing to do with it or are merely the expression of accompanying states of mind (masochism, for instance is the "practice of seeking humiliation because it is pleasurable" (Masochism).

It is not likely that a term in the non specialized part of the English language will be found. From the medical point of view, which is the most rational one to adopt in the light of the nonsense the sane observer is facing, it becomes necessary to talk about antisocial personality disorder (Wikepedia), and it is even quite possible that this particular disorder you consider has not been recorded yet. I can't find anything specific about it.

Accordingly, the best I could say about such a person would be that they suffer from an antisocial personality disorder.

Answered by LPH on March 29, 2021

Such a person has a macabre disposition:

[Merriam-Webster]
1 : having death as a subject : comprising or including a personalized representation of death
    // The macabre dance included a procession of skeletons.
2 : dwelling on the gruesome
    // a macabre presentation of a tragic story

It's the second sense that's particularly relevant. But somebody who is fixated on the macabre, especially in real life rather than fiction, is fascinated by tragedy and death, having some level of excitement when anticipating something of that nature occurring, and also when it finally does.

The following example sentence addresses the title of the question:

People say I have macabre desires.


An alternative, although I don't find it as personally compelling in this context, is morbid:

2 : abnormally susceptible to or characterized by gloomy or unwholesome feelings
3 : GRISLY, GRUESOME
    // morbid details
    // morbid curiosity

I think that morbid is more general, whereas macabre is more specific to death and tragedy. However, others others might find it works as well, or perhaps better, given I'd think it a more common word.

Answered by Jason Bassford on March 29, 2021

thanatos (not always capitalised today)
synonyms
death wish
death instinct
angel of death
Greek god of nonviolent deaths (also, post-Freud, personified "wish for destruction")
...

Popularised by Freud, who proposed that the two primary motive forces for all living things (and most particularly, human beings) are Sex & Death (Eros & Thanatos).

Answered by FumbleFingers on March 29, 2021

What you're describing is called malice or Schadenfreude (or perhaps sadism).

Malice:

The desire to harm someone; ill will.

Example: I bear no malice towards anybody. [Lexico]


Schadenfreude:

Satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune.

[Dictionary.com]

Examples:

  • We then proceed to assess whether expressions of schadenfreude are more contingent on contextual factors that constrain schadenfreude by affecting the legitimacy of the emotional experience itself or its public expression.
  • But it is Schadenfreude, a mischievous delight in the misfortunes of others, which remains the worst trait in human nature.

[Wikitionary]

Many other languages have words and expression for this desire/feeling. English did not have a word for it so it borrowed schadenfreude from German.

The Japanese have a saying: “The misfortunes of others taste like honey.” The French speak of joie maligne, a diabolical delight in other people’s suffering. The Danish talk of skadefryd, and the Dutch of leedvermaak. In Hebrew enjoying other people’s catastrophes is simcha la‑ed, in Mandarin xìng‑zāi‑lè‑huò, in Serbo-Croat it is zlùradōst and in Russian zloradstvo. [Lithub]


There's also epicaricacy which is a rare word.

Epicaricacy: Rejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others. [Wikitionary]

Answered by Decapitated Soul on March 29, 2021

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