masochist

American  

[mas-uh-kist] / ˈmæs ə kɪst /

noun

1. Psychiatry. a person who has masochism, the condition in which sexual or other gratification depends on one's suffering physical pain or humiliation.

2. a person who is gratified by pain, degradation, etc., that is self-imposed or imposed by others.

3. a person who finds pleasure in self-denial, submissiveness, etc.

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Other Word Forms

• masochistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of masochist

First recorded in 1890–1900; masoch(ism) + -ist

Compare meaning

How does masochist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• sadist vs. masochist

Example Sentences

But if you are a masochist and insist on watching, certain things are guaranteed in every state-of-the-disunion speech, and Tuesday’s will be no exception.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 24, 2026

“Spoken like a true masochist, I’m even looking forward to the disagreements, because I think we’re in a moment that we’re being tested in our ability to tolerate each other more through differences.”

From Seattle Times • May 25, 2024

More importantly, what kind of masochist would want it?

From Salon • Sep. 20, 2023

Those are the great unanswered questions, but they’re also not mitigating the fact that to do this sort of thing, you have to be an extreme masochist.

From New York Times • Aug. 30, 2022

Because I am both a glutton and a masochist, my standard complaint, “That was so bad," is always followed by “And there was so little of it!"

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris