masochism

noun

mas·​och·​ism ˈma-sə-ˌki-zəm  ˈma-zə- 

 also  ˈmā-

1

: the derivation of sexual gratification from being subjected to physical pain or humiliation by oneself or another person compare sadism, sadomasochism

2

: pleasure in being abused or dominated : a taste for suffering

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What is the Difference Between the Words masochism & sadism?

Masochism and sadism are both about the enjoyment of pain. Masochism refers to the enjoyment of experiencing pain while sadism refers to the enjoyment of inflicting pain on someone else.

Interestingly, both masochism and sadism are eponymous words. English has thousands of such words, taken from the names of people both real and fictional. Masochism comes from the name of the 19th century German novelist, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. It is unusual in that it began to be used during the lifetime of the man from whom it originated (Sacher-Masoch died in 1895, and masochism had been in printed use since 1892). Sadism comes from the name of the French writer, the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814).

The two words are not only often encountered in connection with one another, they have been combined into a single word, sadomasochism.

Examples of masochism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Beneath its woman-and-dog-in-the-city storyline is subtext about middle-class white liberal masochism. —Armond White, National Review, 2 Apr. 2025

The incident allegedly occurred between two consenting adults during what appears to be bondage, discipline, dominance, submission, sadism, and masochism — more commonly referred to as BDSM. —Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025

Born in 1946 to a father who worked in British intelligence and a dancer mother who traced her lineage to the Habsburg dynasty, Faithfull was also, on her mother’s side, the great-great niece of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (whose 1870 novel Venus in Furs gave us the terms masochism and S&M). —Corey Seymour, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2025

Opening any social media app feels like an act of pure masochism. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Masochismus, from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch †1895 Austrian fiction writer and journalist + -ismus -ism

Note: The German noun was coined by Richard von krafft-ebing, probably first in Neue Forschungen auf dem Gebiet der Psychopathia sexualis (Stuttgart, 1890), p. 1 ff. Krafft-Ebing describes the coinage as follows: "Diese im folgenden zu besprechenden Perversionen der Vita sexualis mögen Masochismus genannt werden, da der bekannte Romanschriftsteller Sacher Masoch in zahlreichen seiner Romanen, ganz besonders in seiner bekannten "Die Venus im Pelz", diese eigene Art der sexuellen Perversion zum Lieblingsgegenstand seiner Schriften gemacht hat." ("The perversions of sexual life to be discussed in what follows may be named masochism, as the well-known novelist Sacher Masoch has made this particular type of sexual perversion a favorite object of his writing in a number of his novels, especially in his well-known Venus in Fur.") The same passage appears in the article "Ueber Masochismus," in the Wiener Medizinische Blätter, No. 52 (December 25, 1890), p. 817.

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

masochism

noun

mas·​och·​ism ˈmas-ə-ˌkiz-əm  ˈmaz- 

: a sexual perversion characterized by pleasure in being subjected to pain or humiliation especially by a love object compare algolagnia, sadism

masochistic

ˌmas-ə-ˈkis-tik  ˌmaz- 

adjective

masochistically

ˌmas-ə-ˈkis-ti-k(ə-)lē  ˌmaz- 

adverb