1.
pent-up resentment, feeling of vindication
A sense of lingering frustration or resentment that has been building up. Most commonly used in the expression 留飲を下げる, meaning to feel a sense of relief or vindication when a grievance is finally addressed.
留飲を下げた。
I felt vindicated.
あの発言を聞いて留飲が下がった。
Hearing that remark gave me a sense of satisfaction.
長年の不満がようやく解消されて、国民は留飲を下げた。
Years of dissatisfaction were finally resolved, and the people felt vindicated.
USAGE:
留飲 almost always appears in the set expression 留飲を下げる (to feel vindicated, to have one's frustration relieved). Originally a medical term referring to acid reflux or heartburn, it came to figuratively mean pent-up resentment that is relieved. The word is rarely used outside this fixed phrase.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 留飲を下げる: to feel vindicated, to get satisfaction
- 留飲が下がる: to feel one's frustration relieved