sadist

American  

[sey-dist, sad-ist] / ˈseɪ dɪst, ˈsæd ɪst /

noun

1. Psychiatry. a person who has the condition of sadism, in which one receives sexual gratification from causing pain and degradation to another.

2. a person who enjoys being cruel.

---

Usage

What is a sadist? The word sadist is used to refer to a person who derives sexual satisfaction from other people’s pain and suffering, especially when they are the one inflicting that pain. Sadist is also used more generally to refer to a person who enjoys being cruel to others, as in My boss is such a sadist that he enjoys making us work late and not paying us for it.  The state or condition of being a sadist or engaging in such practices is called sadism. The adjective form is sadistic. Both terms can be used either specifically or generally. In the context of psychology, the word sadism is used to refer to a disorder in which a person derives sexual pleasure from other people’s pain in a way that harms themselves or harms others without others’ consent. In casual use, such a person may be referred to as a sadist, but like any other disorder, it is usually preferred and recommended to use person-first language, as in a person with a sadism disorder. The word sadist is often contrasted (or confused) with the word masochist, which refers to a person who gets sexual gratification from being on the receiving end of pain or humiliation, rather than from causing it. Masochism is considered a psychological disorder if the person who engages in such practices experiences distress (such as guilt or anxiety) during them or is unable to otherwise function as a healthy person. The term sadomasochism combines both terms to refer to sexual practices in which one person is sexually gratified by inflicting pain and the other person is sexually gratified by being the receiver of pain. It is popularly abbreviated as S&M or SM (which appears in the related abbreviation BDSM). Example: I’m starting to think my teacher is some kind of sadist who enjoys torturing students with homework.

Etymology

Origin of sadist

First recorded in 1890–1920; sad(ism) + -ist

Compare meaning

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

• sadist vs. masochist

Explanation

A sadist is someone who enjoys inflicting pain on others, sometimes in a sexual sense. Sadists like seeing other people hurt. A sadist is the opposite of a masochist, who enjoys being in pain. A sadist is all about hurting others, usually to get off sexually. However, this word is about more than sex. Anyone who is mean and enjoys it — like a bully — could be considered a sadist. Anyone who tortures another human being is almost certainly a sadist. Unfortunately, we can all be a sadist at certain moments. If you've ever been mean to someone and enjoyed it, you were being a little sadistic.

Example Sentences

Fromm covers much of this ground again, analyzing Heinrich Himmler and Josef Stalin as case studies of the sadist driven by the need to dominate.

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2024

Turn the page and you may give up several hours to a dizzying reading experience, less roller coaster than Tilt-a-Whirl manned by a clever but lazy sadist.

From New York Times • Jan. 29, 2022

Santoro’s complex performance is key to this transition: Our perception of him changes from a one-dimensional sadist to a product of his environment, a man who does what he must to climb the social ladder.

From Washington Post • Nov. 1, 2021

In his sweeping 1965 novel “Dune,” Herbert introduced one for the ages: a corpulent, power-hungry sadist with the suitably sinister name of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2021

For the first time, I recognize Eric for what he is: an Erudite disguised as a Dauntless, a genius as well as a sadist, a hunter of the Divergent.

From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• beast
• critter
• lout