Definition of ressentiment in English:
ressentiment
noun rəˈsɒ̃tɪmɒ̃rəˌsäntəˈmän
mass nounA psychological state resulting from suppressed feelings of envy and hatred which cannot be satisfied.
Example sentencesExamples
- ‘The man of ressentiment is characterised by the invasion of consciousness by mnemonic traces, the ascent of memory into consciousness itself’.
- Rousseau's return to nature, he affirms, reeks of reactivity, self-loathing and ressentiment against the aristocratic culture.
- The revolt in social ethics begins when ressentiment turns creative and gives death to values-the ressentiment of beings who, deprived of the direct outlet of creativity, compensate by an all too real vengeance.
- No doubt there is ressentiment, but it is ressentiment with a multitude of reasons that we need to understand, if not accept.
- Such objections can reveal the objectors' ressentiment, but they can also contain some truth.
Origin
Via German (used by Nietzsche in this sense) from French ressentiment 'feeling'.