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.

---

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

His relationship with the older Gerri, which begins with an unexpected, sadomasochistic phone call, is one of the most interesting aspects of the show, partly because it's not explained away.

From Salon

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

The menacing surveillance of a party apparatchik turns into a sadomasochistic tryst, and then an employment opportunity.

From Seattle Times

Beginning in the early ’90s, Opie made her name with a series of portraits of Bay Area lesbians who engaged in sadomasochistic practices, a community to which she belonged.

From New York Times