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

Viewers witness suffering that fits our broadest conceptions of the camps: sadistic Nazis; lines of naked bodies slouching towards death; Jews praying and singing to reassert their humanity. —TIME, 8 May 2024

As the timeline for the Peacock drama jumps from the 1940s Holocaust to the 2000s in Lali’s Melbourne apartment, Nay, a German actor playing a brutal and sadistic SS officer in a Nazi uniform, underlines the importance of telling the story of the Holocaust for new generations. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 May 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above