malaise

noun

Etymology: From French malaise (“ill ease”), from mal- (“bad, badly”) + aise (“ease”). Compare ill at ease.

1. A feeling of general bodily discomfort, fatigue or unpleasantness, often at the onset of illness.

   “Addressing tech malaise has become a trend with authors and self-help coaches – such as Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up With Your Phone, who, during a $295, 50-minute phone call, will offer you advice on things like how to create roadblocks to checking your phone by putting a rubber band around your screen, and “think of the bigger picture” rather than what you’re missing on Twitter.”

   “Volkswagen’s travails are symbolic of the nation’s overall economic malaise and a political crisis that collapsed the government in December, paving the way for early elections Feb. 23.”

2. An ambiguous feeling of mental or moral depression.

   “Their failure helped produce the widespread malaise reported by Thucydides: the Athenians "grieved over their private sufferings, the common people because, having started out with less, they were deprived even of that; the rich had lost their beautiful estates in the country, the houses as well as their expensive furnishings, but worst of all, they had war instead of peace" (2.65.2).”

3. Ill will or hurtful feelings for others or someone.