sadistic

adjective

sə-ˈdi-stik How to pronounce sadistic (audio)
Definition of sadisticnext
as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others the troubled youth is being treated by a psychotherapist for his sadistic urges to hurt animals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sadistic Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney described Heuermann as a remorseless and sadistic serial killer who cared only about himself. — Janelle Griffith, PEOPLE, 17 June 2026 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 And there was a sadistic streak to the attacks. — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for sadistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sadistic
  1. brutal
  2. cruel
  3. vicious
  4. savage
  5. ruthless
Adjective
  • San Francisco has already seen right-hander Hayden Birdsong undergo Tommy John surgery earlier this year, and losing McDonald for an extended period of time would be another brutal blow for the pitching staff.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 25 July 2026
  • This thing—the military—aims, at least in Harlow’s eyes, to turn boys into tools for brutal battlefield aims.
    — Jasper Craven, New Yorker, 24 July 2026
Definition of brutal
Adjective
  • But in one of the cruelest ironies in rock history, Berry suffered a devastating car crash not far from the actual Dead Man’s Curve in Los Angeles on April 12, 1966.
    — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 July 2026
  • In the face of climate change, such woo woo aphorisms seem ridiculous, naive, and cruel.
    — Josh Fox, IndieWire, 17 July 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • Harbaugh had tense standoffs with legacy defenders Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs and, during the 2012 season, held a sitdown with his players to address their vicious and personal attacks on his approach.
    — Ian O'Connor, New York Times, 22 July 2026
  • The film also shows Maddox and her father in a vicious argument inside her car that illustrates the fracturing of their once-close bond.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • The Yellow Death has disfigured the population, and soldiers in white-and-red tunics serve the savage Duke of Tviot.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
  • Josefowicz, in her decathlon of a performance, brought Ligeti’s savage discontinuities to the surface.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Definition of savage
Adjective
  • Models are ruthless in their pursuit of a goal, sometimes taking disastrous shortcuts.
    — Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 22 July 2026
  • Ticketing was a ruthless game of revenue maximization, and the final became a stage for Madonna and Justin Bieber.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 21 July 2026
Definition of ruthless

Browse Nearby Words

sadism
sadistic
sadly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sadistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadistic. Accessed 26 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on sadistic

Nglish: Translation of sadistic for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of aerie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All