sadist

noun

sa·​dist ˈsā-dist 

ˈsa-

plural sadists

: one characterized by sadism : a person who takes pleasure in inflicting pain, punishment, or humiliation on others

a sexual sadist

He's a sadist and, where Toby is concerned, an unusually relentless one: he's in the boy's face constantly, prodding, belittling, taunting.

—Terrence Rafferty

To the penal colony, the cat-o'-nine-tails was a tool more basic than the hoe. On Norfolk Island, where the camp was commanded by a succession of sadists, there were other forms of torture as well …

—Clive James

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

His right side becomes a sadist, obsessed with systems of torture; his left is now possessed by a sickly goodness and grace; both sides are in love with the same woman, Pamela. —Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2023

In this piercing investigation of memory, loss and love, former U.S. poet laureate Trethewey shares the story of her mother's murder by her second husband, a violent, manipulative sadist. —Katherine A. Powers, Star Tribune, 24 Dec. 2020

Between 1947 and 1952, his first six novels featuring private investigator Mike Hammer, a sadist with a heart of gold, sold millions of copies in paperback—bringing legitimacy to the fledgling format. —Michael Saler, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023

Here are stories about that sadist Putin, bombing hospitals. —The Indianapolis Star, 3 Jan. 2023

In more ordinary circumstances, however, his need to dominate and take command wasn’t much different from that of his own villain, the controlling, paramilitary sadist Miss Trunchbull. —Michael Dirda, Washington Post, 28 Dec. 2022

Polumbaum countered in his closing argument Tuesday that Peña’s mental issues were nonsense coming from a manipulative, predatory sadist. —Tonya Alanez, BostonGlobe.com, 26 July 2022

The hold of this little sadist, Daniel Ortega, and his comrades over Nicaragua has to break sometime. —Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 1 Apr. 2022

But, yes, the Whitecloak encounter has also been tweaked to give us more of our favorite sadist. —Andrew Cunningham & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 3 Dec. 2021

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

sadist

noun

sa·​dist

ˈsād-əst,

ˈsad-

: an individual who practices sadism

Medical Definition

sadist

noun

sa·​dist ˈsād-əst  ˈsad- 

: an individual who practices sadism