English · Idiom Candidate

watch the world burn

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To take pleasure in others' misfortune or chaos

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

thưởng thức sự bất hạnh hoặc hỗn loạn của người khác

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: to observe the world being destroyed

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The villain cackled as he watched the world burn

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Equivalents & related

Near equivalent nhập gia tuỳ tục when in Rome, do as the Romans do Tiếng Việt Near equivalent nhập gia tuỳ tục, nhập giang tuỳ khúc when in Rome, do as the Romans do Tiếng Việt Near equivalent when in Rome, do as the Romans do Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review. English · via nhập gia tuỳ tục

Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.

Common questions

What does “watch the world burn” mean?

To take pleasure in others' misfortune or chaos Literally: to observe the world being destroyed

Is “watch the world burn” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

What is the closest equivalent?

“nhập gia tuỳ tục” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.