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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sadism
Here was the postwar American housewife—neatly dressed, pretty, poised, active—stepping unwittingly into a scene of utter depravity and sadism that reflected back at this wholesome young mother the darkest recesses of the human mind.
—
Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2025
That might sound sadistic; indeed, sadism is something of a Hitchcockian virtue.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2025
Making the loser give an address after a Grand Slam final defeat is another aspect of tennis’s unrivalled sadism.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 12 July 2025
The book’s a meld of true crime, memoir and social commentary, but with a mission: to shock readers into a deeper understanding of the American Nightmare, ecological devastation entwined with senseless sadism.
—Hamilton Cain, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sadism
Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2025
That might sound sadistic; indeed, sadism is something of a Hitchcockian virtue.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2025
Making the loser give an address after a Grand Slam final defeat is another aspect of tennis’s unrivalled sadism.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 12 July 2025
The book’s a meld of true crime, memoir and social commentary, but with a mission: to shock readers into a deeper understanding of the American Nightmare, ecological devastation entwined with senseless sadism.
—Hamilton Cain, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for sadism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sadism
Noun
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Being tied to the mast of a regime defined by cruelty and graft is a problem of another magnitude entirely.—
Dónal Gill,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
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After shifting power to the people—like a year-plus bus boycott can do, for example—and getting the government to lessen its corruption, cruelty, injustice or violence, defending those gains is a must.—
Michael Shank,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Biden was slow to react to Netanyahu's growing brutality and, as Harris says in her book, failed to show sufficient empathy for the plight of the Gazans.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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The movie begins with a 10-year-old Michael already showing the brutality for which The Shape was known, then flashes forward 15 years to an adult Michael (Tyler Mane) pursuing his younger sister, Laurie (Scout Taylor-Compton).—
Jessica Sager,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sadism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadism. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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