Searches for the meaning of the word 'schadenfreude' spiked by a whopping 30,500 percent after United States President Donald Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Schadenfreude was the top lookup on October 2 by a very considerable margin, said Merriam-Webster.
"Lookups for 'schadenfreude' have spiked 30,500%," Merriam-Webster tweeted.
Schadenfreude, derived from the German words for 'damage' (schaden) and 'joy' (freude), is defined as 'enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others'.
The search for the term spiked after several news reports used the term while referring to Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis. USA Today ran a headline 'President Donald Trump's coronavirus infection draws international sympathy and a degree of schadenfreude'.
Similarly, Chicago Tribune said, "The Russian president joined a list of world leaders expressing sympathy and concern and some thinly-veiled schadenfreude, in light of Trump’s repeated downplaying of the pandemic and shoot-from-the-hip approach to the science surrounding it."
In addition to the rise in search, the word also began trending on micro-blogging platform Twitter, with many joking about having schadenfreude, while others criticising those who revelled after Trump's diagnosis.
A user even tweeted if too much schadenfreude can cause a hangover.
Another user elaborated on the "Seven stages of response to Trump having coronavirus."
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