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
The New YorkerFor my 41st birthday, an especially sadistic buddy gave me a video of me falling off my skateboard nearly 160 times.—Bret Anthony Johnston
Bret Anthony Johnston
sadistically
adverb
… in a gangster story realism requires that the hoods kill each other off and do so sadistically.
—Robert F. Moss
Robert F. Moss
Synonyms
Examples of sadistic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For all his sadistic faults, at least Bob is a What About Bob? fan.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Apr. 2024
Seven in a row feels like an experiment dreamed up by a sadistic gastroenterologist.
—Pete Wells, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
One aspect of the mission was led by March-Phillipps (Cavill), while Stewart (González) had to go undercover elsewhere to distract a sadistic Nazi officer.
—EW.com, 19 Apr. 2024
There are smooth-talking Nazi officers whose charm masks their menace and a bombshell vixen expected to outsmart — and potentially seduce — the worst of them, the sadistic yet cunning Heinrich Luhr (Teuton action star Til Schweiger).
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024
Amidst the movie’s various prison breaks (including one Nazi guard game sadistic enough to anticipate Sophie’s Choice), Gerbier gathers the titular cadre of allies to carry out his daring missions.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
His internal monologue is like my internal monologue, this sadistic version of you and God that is somehow meaner than both.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
All will no doubt be given sadistic, murderous twists.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024
With its sadistic violence, taboo sexuality, and grim depiction of postwar London, Peeping Tom was a flop that essentially ended the illustrious career of director Michael Powell, falling into obscurity until Martin Scorsese rescued it and rehabilitated its reputation with a 1979 re-release.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024
Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Apr. 2024
Seven in a row feels like an experiment dreamed up by a sadistic gastroenterologist.
—Pete Wells, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
One aspect of the mission was led by March-Phillipps (Cavill), while Stewart (González) had to go undercover elsewhere to distract a sadistic Nazi officer.
—EW.com, 19 Apr. 2024
There are smooth-talking Nazi officers whose charm masks their menace and a bombshell vixen expected to outsmart — and potentially seduce — the worst of them, the sadistic yet cunning Heinrich Luhr (Teuton action star Til Schweiger).
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024
Amidst the movie’s various prison breaks (including one Nazi guard game sadistic enough to anticipate Sophie’s Choice), Gerbier gathers the titular cadre of allies to carry out his daring missions.
—Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
His internal monologue is like my internal monologue, this sadistic version of you and God that is somehow meaner than both.
—Hazlitt, 3 Apr. 2024
All will no doubt be given sadistic, murderous twists.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Mar. 2024
With its sadistic violence, taboo sexuality, and grim depiction of postwar London, Peeping Tom was a flop that essentially ended the illustrious career of director Michael Powell, falling into obscurity until Martin Scorsese rescued it and rehabilitated its reputation with a 1979 re-release.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 12 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sadistic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sadistic
Cite this Entry
“Sadistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sadistic. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.
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