People that rejoice in others' suffering [duplicate]
I would like to know what terms can be used in English to refer to people that rejoice in other people's suffering (as opposed to empathizing with such people).
What are some of the motivations that would cause people to feel this way? Is it an inborn trait? Is it that people suffer so upon seeing other people suffer they can finally feel equal to others as opposed to feeling less than others?
Solution 1:
Consider sadist:
- Psychiatry. a person who has the condition of sadism, in which one receives sexual gratification from causing pain and degradation to another.
- a person who enjoys being cruel.
Source: Dictionary.com
Also, Psychopath:
A person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behaviour.
Source: ODO
I think the reasons/motivations are beyond the scope of ELU.
Solution 2:
Here's an obscure word (and it's a mouthful), because you've added the tags for obscure terms and derived terms:
Epicaricacist, formed from epicaricacy -- Wiktionary
From Ancient Greek ἐπιχαιρεκακία (epikhairekakía, “joy upon evil”).
noun 1. (rare) Rejoicing at or deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others.
The word is mentioned in some early dictionaries, but there is little or no evidence of actual usage until it was picked up by various "interesting word" websites around the turn of the twenty-first century.
Epicaricacy is another less popular term for schadenfreude. I think there's also schadenfreude + ist = schadenfreudist. No real dictionaries have it... yet.
Solution 3:
There is a word schadenfreude borrowing from German Schadenfreude (“joy in the misfortune of others”).
There is also a rare word schadenfreuder, a person experiencing schadenfreude.