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Lebensmüde

[ˈleːbn̩sˌmyːdə] · LAY-buns-mü-duh · German · adjective
negativeintensity: highsadness

Weary of life, tired of living.

Definition

Weary of life, tired of living — ranging from world-weary dejection to, at full strength, an active weariness shading into suicidality.

Connotation & usage

Where Weltschmerz is melancholy at the gap between the world and one's ideals (an outward, philosophical sadness), lebensmüde is the more personal, inward exhaustion with one's own existence. Heavier than ennui or acedia (boredom, listless apathy) and capable of edging into a death-wish. Note a common colloquial/ironic use — “Bist du lebensmüde?!” (“Do you have a death wish?!”) said of recklessness.

Literal sense

Leben “life” (+ linking -s-) + müde “tired, weary” = “life-tired.”

Related words

Etymology

A transparent native German compound: Leben “life” + müde “tired, weary.”

How it has changed

Attested across centuries with substantial literary use; the modern colloquial “reckless / has a death wish” usage coexists with the literal “weary of life.” No notable recent semantic shift.

Dispute & caveat

Listed among “untranslatable German sorrow words,” but “world-weary / weary of life” covers it well. Important caution: at full strength the German dictionaries gloss it with suicidal synonyms (lebensüberdrüssig, suizidal) — it is not merely poetic melancholy.

Sources

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From The Lexicon of Feeling — a carefully sourced dictionary & thesaurus of emotions across 60 languages. Definitions are verified against the cited sources; emotion-family, valence, and intensity tags are editorial. This is a learning tool for emotional vocabulary, not therapy or a substitute for professional care. © 2026 The Lexicon of Feeling.