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Weltschmerz

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The German word Weltschmerz refers to a person’s sense of pain or sorrow at the sufferings and imperfections of the world. Weltschmerz  means literally “world pain” and is often used untranslated in English to denote a feeling of sadness, melancholy, or disappointment at the state of the world. Weltschmerz may be translated into English at times as world-weariness or using the French term ennui, but those terms are perhaps more suggestive of boredom or fatigue than an actual response to the condition of  the world.

Weltschmerz should not be confused with Angst, another German word used in English, which describes a generalised feeling of unease or worry.