sadism

sa·dism

noun \ˈsā-ˌdi-zəm, ˈsa-\

Definition of SADISM

1

: a sexual perversion in which gratification is obtained by the infliction of physical or mental pain on others (as on a love object) — compare masochism

2

a : delight in cruelty

b : excessive cruelty

— sa·dist \ˈsā-dist, ˈsa-\ noun

— sa·dis·tic \sə-ˈdis-tik also sā- or sa-\ adjective

— sa·dis·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Examples of SADISM

1. <a troubled youth with a streak of sadism in him>

Origin of SADISM

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Marquis de Sade

First Known Use: 1888

Related to SADISM

Synonyms

atrociousness, atrocity, barbarity, barbarousness, brutality, cruelness, fiendishness, heartlessness, inhumanity, inhumanness, cruelty, savageness, savagery, truculence, viciousness, wantonness

Antonyms

benignity, compassion, good-heartedness, humaneness, humanity, kindheartedness, kindness, sympathy, tenderheartedness

Related Words

hard-heartedness, mercilessness, pitilessness, ruthlessness, unfeelingness; fellness, ferociousness, ferocity, fierceness, grimness; bloodlust, bloodthirstiness, murderousness, sanguineness, sanguinity; cattiness, despitefulness, hatefulness, malevolence, maliciousness, malignity, meanness, nastiness, spitefulness; hardhandedness, harshness, heavy-handedness, oppressiveness

Near Antonyms

tenderness, warmheartedness, warmness, warmth; charitableness, clemency, leniency, mercifulness, mercy, pity

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with SADISM

abysm, ageism, autism, baalism, baptism, Birchism, bossism, bruxism, Buddhism, casteism, centrism, charism, Chartism, classism, cubism, cultism, czarism, deism, dwarfism, faddism, fauvism, Gaullism, Grecism, Hobbism, holism, Jainism, Klanism, leftism, lyrism, Mahdism, Maoism, Marxism, monism, mutism, Nazism, nudism, Orphism, priggism, purism, Ramism, rightism, Saivism, sapphism, Scotism, sexism, Shaktism, Shiism, Sikhism, simplism, snobbism, sophism, statism, Sufism, tachism, Tantrism, Taoism, theism, Thomism, tourism, tropism, truism, Turkism, verism, Whiggism, Yahwism

sa·dism

noun \ˈsā-ˌdiz-əm, ˈsad-ˌiz-\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of SADISM

: a sexual perversion in which gratification is obtained by the infliction of physical or mental pain on others (as on a love object)—compare algolagnia, masochism

—sa·dis·tic \sə-ˈdis-tik also sā- or sa-\ (audio pronunciation) adjective

—sa·dis·ti·cal·ly \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ (audio pronunciation) adverb

Biographical Note for SADISM

Sade \sȧd\ (audio pronunciation) Marquis de (Comte Donatien–Alphonse–François) (1740–1814), French soldier and writer. From the time that he was a young nobleman Sade consorted with prostitutes and developed a taste for sexual perversions. He was imprisoned on several occasions for his harsh abuse of prostitutes and gross licentiousness. After arriving at the Bastille in 1784 he began writing erotic novels in which he gave full expression to his sexual fantasies. His most famous novel was The Adversities of Virtue (1787). His works are known for their graphic descriptions of sexual perversions. His last years were spent in an insane asylum at Charenton, where he wrote plays for his fellow inmates to perform. His compulsion for physically and sexually abusing others gave rise to the concept of sadism.

sadism

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Psychosexual disorder in which sexual urges are gratified by inflicting pain on another person. The term was coined in reference to the marquis de Sade, who chronicled his own such practices. Sadism is often linked to masochism, and many individuals who have one tendency also have the other.