Sadism
noun
The tendency to find pleasure in being cruel to others.
His sadism was evident in the way he treated his subordinates.
Often appears as...
- sadistic pleasure
- sexual sadism
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
The deriving of sexual gratification from the infliction of physical pain or humiliation on another person.
She sought therapy to understand her partner's sexual sadism.
Often appears as...
- sadomasochism
- sexual sadism disorder
Usage tips
Disapproving
Academic
noun
The tendency to find pleasure in being cruel to others.
His sadism was evident in the way he treated his subordinates.
Often appears as...
- sadistic pleasure
- sexual sadism
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
The deriving of sexual gratification from the infliction of physical pain or humiliation on another person.
She sought therapy to understand her partner's sexual sadism.
Often appears as...
- sadomasochism
- sexual sadism disorder
Usage tips
Disapproving
Academic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Emotion
Sadism involves enjoying causing pain, reflecting a disturbing mindset, often disapproved of in society.
The villain's sadism was clear when he smiled at the hero's pain.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Physical Only
Sadism can also refer to inflicting emotional distress, not just physical harm.
His relentless insults displayed a form of verbal sadism.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphoric Use
Sadism is sometimes used metaphorically for harsh but necessary actions not actually enjoyed.
The teacher felt like a sadist as she assigned a lot of homework over the holiday.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Emotion
Sadism involves enjoying causing pain, reflecting a disturbing mindset, often disapproved of in society.
The villain's sadism was clear when he smiled at the hero's pain.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Physical Only
Sadism can also refer to inflicting emotional distress, not just physical harm.
His relentless insults displayed a form of verbal sadism.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphoric Use
Sadism is sometimes used metaphorically for harsh but necessary actions not actually enjoyed.
The teacher felt like a sadist as she assigned a lot of homework over the holiday.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Emotion
Sadism involves enjoying causing pain, reflecting a disturbing mindset, often disapproved of in society.
The villain's sadism was clear when he smiled at the hero's pain.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Physical Only
Sadism can also refer to inflicting emotional distress, not just physical harm.
His relentless insults displayed a form of verbal sadism.
Pro Tip 3/3Metaphoric Use
Sadism is sometimes used metaphorically for harsh but necessary actions not actually enjoyed.
The teacher felt like a sadist as she assigned a lot of homework over the holiday.
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Video examples
Steven Pinker and...
Respectable people kept slaves. For all our flaws, we have abandoned these barbaric practices. So, do you think it's human nature that's changed? Not exactly. I think we still harbor instincts that can erupt in violence, like greed, tribalism, revenge, dominance, sadism.
Video examples
Steven Pinker and...
Respectable people kept slaves. For all our flaws, we have abandoned these barbaric practices. So, do you think it's human nature that's changed? Not exactly. I think we still harbor instincts that can erupt in violence, like greed, tribalism, revenge, dominance, sadism.
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
Sarah Weinman
American Journalist
As Paretsky detailed in her short memoir Writing in an Age of Silence (2007), early optimism buoyed by the civil rights movement of the 1960s and early 1970s has, in her view, all but crumbled in the face of a bombardment of sadism and misogyny, the withholding of civil liberties, and the nation's move from proud speech into near-deafening silence.
Quote examples
Adam Johnson
American Writer
The reader feels as if he is in Chongjin, where starving people ate the bark off trees; or atop Mount Taesong with the elite of Pyongyang, whose existence is a mix of sadism and whimsy; or with the masses who are bombarded day and night with the propaganda of North Korea's alternate reality.
Quote examples
Kangana Ranaut
Indian Actress
Imagine: in the medieval ages, there was no evidence of how the history of mankind has been affected by witchcraft. But there is significant factual history of how brutality and sadism of mankind have been displayed in the most obscene manner in the name of witch-hunt.
Quote examples
Alice Miller
Swiss Psychologist
Sadism is not an infectious disease that strikes a person all of a sudden. It has a long prehistory in childhood and always originates in the desperate fantasies of a child who is searching for a way out of a hopeless situation.
Quote examples
Naomi Wolf
American Author
When I was a baby feminist, leading feminist thinkers were insisting that if women ran the world, there would be no sadism or war.
Quote examples
Andrea Pirlo
Italian Athlete
Sometimes a pinch of sadism is the ingredient that makes victory taste that little bit sweeter.
Quote examples
Sigmund Freud
Austrian Psychologist
Sadism is all right in its place, but it should be directed to proper ends.
Quote examples
Emil Cioran
Romanian Philosopher
Skepticism is the sadism of embittered souls.
Quote examples
Sarah Weinman
American Journalist
As Paretsky detailed in her short memoir Writing in an Age of Silence (2007), early optimism buoyed by the civil rights movement of the 1960s and early 1970s has, in her view, all but crumbled in the face of a bombardment of sadism and misogyny, the withholding of civil liberties, and the nation's move from proud speech into near-deafening silence.
Quote examples
Adam Johnson
American Writer
The reader feels as if he is in Chongjin, where starving people ate the bark off trees; or atop Mount Taesong with the elite of Pyongyang, whose existence is a mix of sadism and whimsy; or with the masses who are bombarded day and night with the propaganda of North Korea's alternate reality.
Quote examples
Kangana Ranaut
Indian Actress
Imagine: in the medieval ages, there was no evidence of how the history of mankind has been affected by witchcraft. But there is significant factual history of how brutality and sadism of mankind have been displayed in the most obscene manner in the name of witch-hunt.
Quote examples
Alice Miller
Swiss Psychologist
Sadism is not an infectious disease that strikes a person all of a sudden. It has a long prehistory in childhood and always originates in the desperate fantasies of a child who is searching for a way out of a hopeless situation.
Quote examples
Naomi Wolf
American Author
When I was a baby feminist, leading feminist thinkers were insisting that if women ran the world, there would be no sadism or war.
Quote examples
Andrea Pirlo
Italian Athlete
Sometimes a pinch of sadism is the ingredient that makes victory taste that little bit sweeter.
Quote examples
Sigmund Freud
Austrian Psychologist
Sadism is all right in its place, but it should be directed to proper ends.
Quote examples
Emil Cioran
Romanian Philosopher
Skepticism is the sadism of embittered souls.
Example 1 of 8
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