Feeling or showing smug satisfaction about one's own success or someone else's failure.
From Middle English 'gloten,' possibly from Old Norse 'glotta' (to smile scornfully). The word has meant 'to show triumphant satisfaction' since at least the 1500s.
Neuroscientists have found that our brains do feel pleasure when rivals fail—it's called 'schadenfreude'—but gloating about it seems to be culturally discouraged more now than in earlier eras, suggesting emotional norms shift.
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