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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Recent Examples of sadism
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
To be sure, the drive to appropriate was often bound up with sadism and love of domination.
—Literary Hub, 22 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
Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
Humor responds to a misfortune with sadism and schadenfreude.
—Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
To be sure, the drive to appropriate was often bound up with sadism and love of domination.
—Literary Hub, 22 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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To make the musical masterpiece of his dreams, Lestat will have to break on through his shell of witty cruelty and hope an authentic soul remains intact beneath it.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
2 June 2026
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She was arrested at a hotel near the barn and booked at the Clark County Juvenile Hall on 12 counts of animal cruelty, including intentionally aiming or torturing a horse, as well as three counts of malicious destruction of property.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Lyrics by Ahrens and dialogue by McNally about the discrimination and brutality that Black Americans and immigrants face can seem straight out of the current moment.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 June 2026
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Where the movie’s true eccentricity comes in is in its combination of breezy comedy with shocking brutality and gore, perhaps most exemplified in an oddly casual moment in a morgue where Seagal and Wayans find a clue in the form of a serial number on a dead woman’s breast implant.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
5 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sadism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadism. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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