sadistic

adjective

sa·​dis·​tic sə-ˈdi-stik 

 also  sā-,

 or  sa-

: of, relating to, or characterized by sadism

sadistic fantasies

: taking pleasure in the infliction of pain, punishment, or humiliation on others

a leg … sawed off in sections by a sadistic surgeon

—The New Yorker

For my 41st birthday, an especially sadistic buddy gave me a video of me falling off my skateboard nearly 160 times.

—Bret Anthony Johnston

sadistically

sə-ˈdi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

 also  sā-

 or  sa-

adverb

… in a gangster story realism requires that the hoods kill each other off and do so sadistically.

—Robert F. Moss

Synonyms

• atrocious
• barbaric
• barbarous
• brutal
• brute
• butcherly
• cruel
• fiendish
• heartless
• inhuman
• inhumane
• savage
• truculent
• vicious
• wanton

Examples of sadistic in a Sentence

the troubled youth is being treated by a psychotherapist for his sadistic urges to hurt animals

Recent Examples on the Web

The gang is in existential crisis mode when they get thrown into a donation box and face their own mortality at a day care run by a sadistic teddy bear. —Brian Truitt, USA Today, 21 June 2025

What sadistic joke is this for families facing Alzheimer’s, stroke or advanced dementia? —Paul Fillinger, Mercury News, 18 June 2025

Robbie Daymond, a frequent Critical Role guest, makes a surprise appearance on the stage, playing the sadistic host of a fantasy reality show. —James Grebey, Rolling Stone, 13 June 2025

What is a hint in the novel becomes a horror onscreen when Fanny discovers sketchbooks showing sadistic scenes of plantation life. —Marina Harss, New Yorker, 13 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sadistic

• artistic
• autistic
• ballistic
• cladistic
• heuristic
• holistic
• linguistic
• logistic
• monistic
• patristic
• simplistic
• sophistic