sadistic

adjective

sa·​dis·​tic sə-ˈdi-stik 

 also  sā-,

 or  sa-

: of, relating to, or characterized by sadism

sadistic fantasies

: taking pleasure in the infliction of pain, punishment, or humiliation on others

a leg … sawed off in sections by a sadistic surgeon

—The New Yorker

For my 41st birthday, an especially sadistic buddy gave me a video of me falling off my skateboard nearly 160 times.

—Bret Anthony Johnston

sadistically

sə-ˈdi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

 also  sā-

 or  sa-

adverb

… in a gangster story realism requires that the hoods kill each other off and do so sadistically.

—Robert F. Moss

Synonyms

• atrocious
• barbaric
• barbarous
• brutal
• brute
• butcherly
• cruel
• fiendish
• heartless
• inhuman
• inhumane
• savage
• truculent
• vicious
• wanton

Examples of sadistic in a Sentence

the troubled youth is being treated by a psychotherapist for his sadistic urges to hurt animals

Recent Examples on the Web

Read more: The 100 Best Movies of the Past 10 Decades The border police on both sides are cruel and sadistic. —Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 21 June 2024

Chris Cooper plays Sam Deeds, a curious Lone Star sheriff trying to solve the 25-year-old murder of his bigoted, sadistic predecessor (played in flashbacks by Kris Kristofferson). —and Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 21 June 2024

People in the west, theorists claim, were looking for catharsis outside of the news, and seeing a sadistic puppet pressure Cary Elwes into cutting off his own leg in a dirty bathroom was oddly comforting back then. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 21 June 2024

Wilson patriarch Murry was a strict disciplinarian prone to angry outbursts and punishments that frequently veered towards the sadistic. —Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 1 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above