Is there a word for...

Would something like dejection do? I know it doesn't specifically link with the bad thing having been expected, though. It's really just a synonym for disappointment, now that I think of it...

I thought of resignation, but I don't think that's right either.

The only other options I can think of involve two words, e.g. grim satisfaction or glum acceptance. And that probably counts as cheating...

Hmm. One is sort of tough. I have the feeling I'm just missing it but all I can come up with are multiple-word phrases.

Justified pessimism?

Self-fulfilling prophecy?

I would go with grim satisfaction

benbenberi said:

... the emotion you feel when your expectation of something bad has been met?

It's not satisfaction. It's not disappointment. Thesaurus.com is full of other words that it's not. The emotion I'm feeling right now is frustration. Oh English language, are you letting me down this time??? Help me, AW, you're my only hope...

(Also, is there a thread somewhere that normally handles this kind of question, or a better section to put it in?)

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Hmmm...resignation?

mirandashell said:

I would go with grim satisfaction

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This fits.

"Grim satisfaction" sounds good to me, too

benbenberi said:

"Grim satisfaction" is the closest I've been able to come up with too. (Resignation was my runner-up.)

Guess it will have to do for now, she said with grim satisfaction.

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To me the "grim satisfaction" is something bad that happened to some one I don't like. If it happened to me, I don't feel any satisfaction at all. More like a premonition fulfilled. "Resignation" is not a bad choice either.

Hope it helps.

'Relief', possibly? Now that the worst has happened, that what you were dreading has come to pass, you can deal with the aftermath and move on.
Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the actual thing. Not 'the event wasn't as bad as expected', but it's no longer filling your days with the 'Jaws' shark's theme music.

I went to that great major resource for an answer (google)
When your worst fears are realized, the most common answer I found was... liberating.

I know that feeling! It's a combination of:

1- going "This isn't going to end well,"
2- bad thing that affects you happens
3- you feel bad because bad thing happened to you
4- and yet a tiny part of you has this incongruous inappropriate satisfaction like 'I KNEW I WAS RIGHT!!' I mean it's not a loud, jumping-for-joy type of glee, it's more of a quiet smugness.

I wish there was an actual word for this. Grim satisfaction is close but it's not exactly it.

"gloomy satisfaction" is the phrase I've seen used, rather than "grim".

I think I usually feel ironic.

Or cruel resignation

Grim satisfaction sounds like you wanted the event to happen. Like your boyfriend being dumped by the person he dumped you for. That would be grim satisfaction.

benbenberi said:

... the emotion you feel when your expectation of something bad has been met?

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Resignation?

Unless you're excited that something bad has happened. Or overjoyed. You don't give a context so anything is possible.

Jeff

If none of these work, you might want to go the more in-depth route and describe, not the emotion, but the actual thought process the character goes through when their bad expectations are met. Just a thought.

I don't think there is one feeling in this sort of situation. The person may feel a combination of things. From the relief at it being over (no more anticipating), to concern for what comes next, to grief for what could (should) have been if they knew the bad event was preventable, to satisfaction at having been correct. People are complicated and can feel opposite emotions at once. Perhaps there is no one word because there is no one feeling.

reddirtwriter said:

Or cruel resignation

Grim satisfaction sounds like you wanted the event to happen. Like your boyfriend being dumped by the person he dumped you for. That would be grim satisfaction.

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I like your example.

How about 'somber relief'?

perverse satisfaction

The best I can think of is "unsurprised disappointment," or sometimes plain old "sadness." I've been in that situation before. You see the problem. You know how it will end. Yet you're helpless to resolve it. All you can do is watch resignedly while it unfolds just as you predicted.

It's not satisfaction, though, not at all. I can think of many examples from my years as a vet tech. There are some things that just can't be cured and it's heartbreaking watching owners come to terms (or not come to terms) with that fact. When a twenty-year-old cat with kidney failure dies, it's not a surprise but it's still sad.

Perhaps you could substitute an external term? I can't think of a word for my own emotion of depressingly fulfilled expectation, but I know what I felt for the people around me who either didn't know or didn't accept what was coming. If you don't find that perfect word, empathy with other characters might help.

Obviously, this might not apply if the outcome isn't sad or if the character is alone.

I guess you could also be referring to a scene where the outcome is bad and inevitable, but not sad (i.e. observing a classmate's terrible study habits. You know they're going to fail, but if you don't know them you're probably not emotionally involved).

The others are right. I think we need more details.

Emotion when your expectation of something bad has been met?

is rather general. If I saw a patch of ice such that I would slide or skid on it, then my feeling when that happened would be to steer out of the skid. If I thought that woman Xyz was going to dump me for a lesbian and she did, then my feeling would be very different. If it were in relation to a financial reversal, then my feelings would also be different.