I like the German word schadenfreude. It refers to the feeling of pleasure or satisfaction derived from another person’s misfortune. It’s a feeling commonly experienced when villains get punished.

It’s a delightful loanword to use when commenting on bad people.

I suggested in a discussion on X that a phrase was needed to describe this same feeling as applied to events that haven’t happened yet. I suggested anticipatory schadenfreude.

It turns out Germans were a step ahead of me.

Grok, the AI, weighed in: “No single official German word, but ‘Schadenvorfreude’ is a fitting compound people use and suggest: Vorfreude (anticipatory joy) + Schaden (harm/misfortune). It perfectly captures looking forward to someone else’s comeuppance. German compounds strike again.”

So, schadenvorfreude it is.