as in cruelty
disposition to willfully inflict pain and suffering on others
a troubled youth with a streak of sadism in him
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sadism
The series begins before Gein has ever killed, in 1945, as dawning awareness of death camps in Europe fills the air with sadism and conspiracy thinking.
—
Daniel D'addario,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
The invading parasite is a culture of hate and paranoia and sadism — mass hysteria as sanctioned by the government that is supposed to protect you.
—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Humor responds to a misfortune with sadism and schadenfreude.
—
Big Think,
23 Sep. 2025
That might sound sadistic; indeed, sadism is something of a Hitchcockian virtue.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sadism
Daniel D'addario,
Variety,
30 Sep. 2025
The invading parasite is a culture of hate and paranoia and sadism — mass hysteria as sanctioned by the government that is supposed to protect you.
—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Humor responds to a misfortune with sadism and schadenfreude.
—
Big Think,
23 Sep. 2025
That might sound sadistic; indeed, sadism is something of a Hitchcockian virtue.
—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sadism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sadism
Noun
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These passages highlight the typically human cruelty and hypocrisy of fighting for one’s own liberty while denying it to one’s neighbors.
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Last week, Dixon also pleaded no contest to the three felony animal cruelty charges.
Noun
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But it’s lost on these boys, whose youth has been ground away by the drug trade’s meaningless brutality.
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There is a weird intimacy to hand-to-hand combat and the brutality of it.
Cite this Entry
“Sadism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadism. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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