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

In Syria, the sadistic Assad dynasty, in power for more than a half century, has been ousted by Sunni rebels. —Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2024

With his yellowy eyes, sadistic laugh and coonskin hat, Farkus looked every bit the villain in this childhood favorite. —Mike Miller, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024

Investigators theorized that Hunt had developed the same sadistic taste. —Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024

Their sadistic spree ended with a particularly gruesome slaying — one of their victims, a 39-year-old mother of two, Ko Lai Zhang, was found dead in a Borough Park basement in Brooklyn on Sept. 2, 1995. —John Annese, New York Daily News, 14 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1892, in the meaning defined above