gloat

/gloʊt/

/gləʊt/

Other forms: gloating; gloated; gloats

If you gloat, you express great satisfaction at the misfortune of others. If your team scores a big win, it would be better not to gloat. Be happy for your win, but don't laugh at the other team's loss.

Gloat seems have come from a Germanic word meaning "to stare." Somehow people may have gotten the sense that whoever was doing the staring was also taking a deep and unwholesome pleasure in whatever he or she was seeing. Think about people staring and pointing and laughing. Sometimes you gloat when someone has rejected the help you have offered. If your little sister won't listen to your advice on how to improve her essay and then comes home with a bad grade, it will be very hard not to gloat and say "I told you so."

Definitions of gloat

1. verb

   dwell on with satisfaction
   synonyms: crow, triumph

   types:

   congratulate, preen

   pride or congratulate (oneself) for an achievement

   type of:

   blow, bluster, boast, brag, gas, gasconade, shoot a line, swash, tout, vaunt

   show off
2. verb

   gaze at or think about something with great self-satisfaction, gratification, or joy
   type of:

   look

   perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
3. noun

   malicious satisfaction
   synonyms: glee, gloating

   type of:

   satisfaction

   the contentment one feels when one has fulfilled a desire, need, or expectation