Meanings
plural sadisms
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation without pity.
- countableuncountableAchievement of sexual gratification by inflicting pain or humiliation on others, or watching pain or humiliation inflicted on others.
- broadlycountableuncountableDeliberate or wanton cruelty, either mental or physical, to other people, or to animals, regardless of whether for (sexual) gratification.
Synonyms: sadisticness
Synonyms & antonyms
nounDeliberate or wanton cruelty, either mental or physical, to other people, or to animals, regardless of whether for (sexual) gratification.
Origin
- GermanSadismus
- Frenchsadisme
- Englishsadism
From French sadisme and German Sadismus. Named after the Marquis de Sade, famed for his libertine writings depicting the pleasure of inflicting pain to others. The word for "sadism" (sadisme) was coined or acknowledged in the 1834 posthumous reprint of French lexicographer Boiste's Dictionnaire universel de la langue française; it is reused along with "sadist" (sadique) in 1862 by French critic Sainte-Beuve in his commentary of Flaubert's novel Salammbô; it is reused (possibly independently) in 1886 by Austrian psychiatrist Krafft-Ebing in Psychopathia Sexualis which popularized it; it is directly reused in 1905 by Freud in Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality which definitively established the word.
More words from French, German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic سادية
- ساديةpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Bulgarian садизъм
- садизъм (sadizăm)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Chinese Mandarin 虐待狂
- 虐待狂 (nüèdàikuáng)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Czech sadismus
- sadismuspsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Danish sadisme, sadisme
- sadismepsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismesexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
- sadismedeliberate cruelty
Dutch sadisme, sadisme
- sadismepsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismesexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
- sadismedeliberate cruelty
Esperanto sadismo
- sadismopsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Finnish sadismi, sadismi
- sadismipsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismisexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
- sadismideliberate cruelty
French sadisme, sadisme
- sadismepsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismesexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
- sadismedeliberate cruelty
German Sadismus
- Sadismuspsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Greek σαδισμός, σαδισμός
- σαδισμός (sadismós)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- σαδισμός (sadismós)sexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
Hindi परपीड़न, परपीड़न रति
- परपीड़न (parpīṛan)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- परपीड़न रति (parpīṛan rati)sexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
- परपीड़न कामुकता (parpīṛan kāmuktā)sexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
Hungarian szadizmus, szadizmus
- szadizmuspsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- szadizmusdeliberate cruelty
Indonesian sadisme
- sadismepsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Italian sadismo
- sadismopsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Japanese サディズム
- サディズム (sadizumu)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Malay kesadisan, sadisme
- kesadisanpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismepsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Persian سادیسم, دگر آزاری
- سادیسم (sâdism)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- دگر آزاری (degar âzâri)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- سادیسم (sâdism)sexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
Polish sadyzm, sadyzm
- sadyzmpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadyzmsexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
Portuguese sadismo, sadismo
- sadismopsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismosexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
Romanian sadism, sadism
- sadismpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismsexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
Russian сади́зм
- сади́зм (sadízm)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Spanish sadismo, sadismo
- sadismopsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismosexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
Swedish sadism, sadism
- sadismpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadismsexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
- sadismdeliberate cruelty
Turkish sadizm, sadistlik
- sadizmpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- sadistlikpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- elezerlikpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Ukrainian сади́зм, сади́зм
- сади́зм (sadýzm)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- сади́зм (sadýzm)sexual gratification from inflicting pain or humiliation, or watching it inflicted
Vietnamese bạo dâm, ác dâm
- bạo dâmpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
- ác dâmpsychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Yiddish סאַדיזם
- סאַדיזם (sadizm)psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
sadism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sadism
“sadism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sadism. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sadism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sadism.
Source: sadism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.