sadomasochistic

American  

[sey-doh-mas-uh-kis-tik, -maz-, sad-oh-] / ˌseɪ doʊˌmæs əˈkɪs tɪk, -ˌmæz-, ˌsæd oʊ- /

adjective

1. pertaining to or characterized by interaction, especially sexual activity, in which one person enjoys inflicting physical or mental suffering on another person, who derives pleasure from experiencing pain.

   The artist perfectly, but controversially, captured the spirit of the underground, homoerotic, sadomasochistic scenes of the 60s and 70s in New York.

2. deriving gratification by both inflicting and receiving pain.

   You can’t win—someone’s always going to call you a sadomasochistic hater of babies for making your baby cry it out.

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Etymology

Origin of sadomasochistic

sad- ( sadism ) + -o- + masochistic ( def. )

Example Sentences

Campbell insists that “Grief” is not an act of sadomasochistic indulgence, nor is the act of dramatizing pain anything new.

From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2023

Mr. Nitsch staged events known as “actions” that drew on pagan and Christian rites with the purpose, he said, of laying “bare the origins of the creation of sadomasochistic myths.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2022

Deep down, we all want to embarrass ourselves – a sadomasochistic impulse that fuels the aforementioned karaoke bars, the drunken late-night tweet, video apps like Musical.ly and the dearly departed Vine, and Anthony Weiner.

From The Guardian • Nov. 3, 2016

I think it’s a mistake to assume that Chazelle is entirely endorsing the sadomasochistic teacher-student relationship at its center, or declaring that that’s the best way to teach music or art or anything else.

From Salon • Oct. 10, 2014

The couple appeared together in about a dozen films, including "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in which Taylor played an alcoholic shrew in an emotionally sadomasochistic marriage.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2011