sadism

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“
The only thing that torture proponents have to offer in defense of the sadism are claims which they never substantiate.

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Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others.
  2. noun The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty.
  3. noun Extreme cruelty.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (1)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

  • Drug or alcohol abuse is a common denominator in many cases of sadism, according to Lareau. —  Victorville Daily Press :
  • Ernie might work for Wild Bill, but his twisted sadism is all his own. —  Pretty, Fizzy Paradise
  • There is also a touch of sadism, as Barker's hellish worlds offer numerous opportunities to observe and even participate in the suffering of others. —  SCI FI Wire
  • 'Funny Games' offers an especially pure and perverse kind of cinematic sadism, the kind that seeks to stop us from taking pleasure in our own masochism —  Taipei Times
  • His is an especially pure and perverse kind of cinematic sadism, the kind that seeks to stop us from taking pleasure in our own masochism. —  Taipei Times
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This word has been looked up 80 times.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. After Comte Donatien Alphonse François de Sade.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. From Comte de Sade (1740–1814), infamous for the licentiousness of his life and writings.
 

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/ˈsɑdɪzm/
by American Heritage

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