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algolagnia

American  
[al-guh-lag-nee-uh] / ˌæl gəˈlæg ni ə /

noun

Psychiatry.
  1. sexual pleasure derived from enduring or inflicting pain, as in masochism or sadism.


algolagnia British  
/ ˌælɡəˈlæɡnɪə /

noun

  1. a perversion in which sexual pleasure is gained from the experience or infliction of pain See also sadism masochism

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • algolagnic adjective
  • algolagnist noun

Etymology

Origin of algolagnia

1900–05; < German Algolagnie, equivalent to algo- algo- + -lagnie < Greek lagneía lust

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Other authors prefer the narrower term algolagnia which emphasizes the pleasure in pain and cruelty, whereas the terms selected by v.

From Project Gutenberg

It is in masochism, or passive algolagnia, that we may most frequently find scatalogic symbolism in its fully developed form.

From Project Gutenberg

The algolagnia, being one of the congenital conditions of my sexual instinct, must be considered fundamental, and certainly has not been eliminated.

From Project Gutenberg

I may here narrate a case which has been communicated to me of algolagnia in a woman, combined with sexual hyperesthesia.

From Project Gutenberg

The roots of active algolagnia, sadism, can be readily demonstrable in the normal.

From Project Gutenberg