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

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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 The 76ers didn’t even desperately need him, which makes Myers waltzing into free agency and pulling off this casual heist even more delightfully sadistic. — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 24 July 2026 He was executed for the sadistic death of his wife in front of her teenage son in 1992 in Orange County. — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 24 July 2026 With the franchise’s trademark blend of extreme gore and dark humor, the Evil Dead backstory centers on the ancient Book of the Dead that unleashes supernatural evil forces and twists victims into sadistic, shape-shifting, near-invincible monsters. — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 21 July 2026 In Dungeon Crawler Carl, written for television by film, TV and comic book writer Chris Yost, an alien invasion has wiped out most of humanity and any survivors are forced to fight for their lives on a sadistic intergalactic game show. — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 18 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for sadistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sadistic
  1. brutal
  2. cruel
  3. vicious
  4. savage
  5. ruthless
Adjective
  • His brutal murder in Culiacán, the capital of the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, happened in just a few seconds on Tuesday in front of an audience of thousands of social media users watching his TikTok stream.
    — Rey Rodríguez, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
  • Deliberate exposure is a brutal test — in this trial, 81% of the placebo group got sick, experiencing diarrhea and fever in some cases before receiving antibiotics.
    — Joseph Kim, NPR, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of brutal
Adjective
  • Impermanence turns out to be the cruelest fact and the most merciful one at once.
    — Dr. Lucy McBride, Time, 8 Aug. 2026
  • His central characters can be nasty, disgusting, violent, hysterically cruel, and passionately consumed.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • And on the other side of the ball, this defense has a chance to be downright vicious.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Heidegger, the philosopher of authenticity and independent thought, had become one of them, surrendering to vicious political cant.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • The savage battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa had already demonstrated the ferocity with which Japanese forces would defend their homeland.
    — James M. Scott, Time, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The lifestyle mogul made a savage comment about Meghan Markle in a cover story for PEOPLE on Wednesday, calling out her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of savage
Adjective
  • With her Demonic transformation, Rauch added a whole new shade of dark to Big Bang alums’ returns for the spinoff, following Kaley Cuoco’s ruthless Penny in Episode 2 and Kunal Nayyar’s deeply depressed Raj in Episode 1.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Through remarkable archival footage and an incredible range of interviews, Monsters of God digs into the egotistical and ruthless mentalities that supported competing criminal empires and the undercover operations that dismantled them.
    — Rory Doherty, Time, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of ruthless

Browse Nearby Words

sadism
sadistic
sadly
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Cite this Entry

“Sadistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadistic. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of sadistic for Spanish Speakers

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