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 of sadistic

• brutal
• cruel
• vicious
• savage
• ruthless

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

Most of us are slaves to Teams in our day jobs, and the inclusion of the call tone is a work of sadistic (and entirely on-brand) genius. —Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026

To close out season 5 — and kick off season 6 — Criminal Minds turned to former Pennywise actor Tim Curry to play sadistic serial killer Billy Flynn. —Rachel Labonte, Entertainment Weekly, 9 June 2026

Since Ramirez’s death, the 2016 film The Night Stalker, the 2024 film MaXXXine, episodes of American Horror Story and multiple documentaries and docuseries have all told his sadistic story. —Lynsey Eidell, PEOPLE, 7 June 2026

And there was a sadistic streak to the attacks. —Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026

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