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
-
Initially, the couple was arrested on charges of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree unlawful restraint, intentional cruelty to persons, risk of injury to a minor and conspiracy to commit risk of injury to a minor.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
-
There was a particular cruelty in having lived with her hearing for 28 years before losing it.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
This includes re-enshrining, codifying and strengthening our inalienable rights in the United States and abolishing ICE to ensure immigration and the struggle of migrants is treated as a civilian one, requiring support instead of brutality and criminalization.—
Lucas Robinson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
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Although their relationship begins as a love story, the book brings home the profits of Jacob’s earlier brutality—fate catches up to him, and everything that is love and passion sort of spoils into wrath and obsession.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sadism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadism. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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