Word to describe the satisfaction of manipulation

Question

Recently I've become interested in police interrogations, and noticed a lot of criminals seem to have a smirk or what I perceive as some form of masked enjoyment or satisfaction. It's how I would perceive my reaction to be when I know I'm getting away with being the imposter on Among Us.
Is there a word for the satisfaction or enjoyment of having gotten away with lying or manipulating, or more broadly general mischief?

fev · Accepted Answer

I think self-satisfaction in criminals is a kind of sinister self-satisfaction combined with disdain for the others, and you could name it a gloat. "Gloat" is a verb, but can be used informally as a noun. It means:

dwell on one's own success or another's misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.

His enemies gloated over his death. (Oxford Languages)

Word to describe the satisfaction of manipulation

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