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
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Recent Examples of sadistic
And there was a sadistic streak to the attacks.
—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
The historical Barbie is described as very sadistic, physically aggressive — someone who enters a room and strikes people on the head, leaving them unconscious during interrogations.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
There’s an element of sadistic, John Simonesque glee to his attacks on the personal appearances of actors.
—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys gradually become feral and sadistic when trapped on an island together, and in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero magically shipwrecks his brother and his allies so that they will all be exiled together under his watch.
—
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sadistic
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
The historical Barbie is described as very sadistic, physically aggressive — someone who enters a room and strikes people on the head, leaving them unconscious during interrogations.
—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
There’s an element of sadistic, John Simonesque glee to his attacks on the personal appearances of actors.
—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys gradually become feral and sadistic when trapped on an island together, and in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero magically shipwrecks his brother and his allies so that they will all be exiled together under his watch.
—
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sadistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sadistic
Adjective
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His first strikeout was part of a brutal sequence.
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The injury is obviously a brutal blow to Canada's starting 11.
Adjective
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Passing a child who is unprepared may be the cruelest act of all.
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This is your news to share or not share; posting about this on Facebook strikes me as cruel.
Adjective
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The story follows vicious ex-con, Max Cady (Bardem) and his revenge plot against married couple Tom (Patrick Wilson) and Anna Bowden (Adams).
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Mahmic’s vicious goal in traffic salvaged some good feeling before a decisive showdown with Qatar next week.
Adjective
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For my microgeneration, the disillusionment crept in with the savage failure of the Iraq War.
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Set in the fictional lands of Westeros, House of the Dragon depicts a savage succession struggle within House Targaryen and a resulting civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons.
Adjective
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Canadian quartet Truck Violence have been sloshing together these subgenres in a ruthless manner for several years now, and their sophomore album and debut for the Flenser aims for even higher drops between those peaks and valleys.
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There was relative peace for 11 years, until a second civil war erupted in 1983, when leaders in Khartoum imposed sharia (Islamic) law and accelerated repression of the southern Christian rebels, which ultimately allowed a ruthless military officer, Omar al-Bashir, to come to power in 1989.
Cite this Entry
“Sadistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadistic. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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