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
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
The historical Barbie is described as very sadistic, physically aggressive — someone who enters a room and strikes people on the head, leaving them unconscious during interrogations.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
There’s an element of sadistic, John Simonesque glee to his attacks on the personal appearances of actors.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys gradually become feral and sadistic when trapped on an island together, and in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero magically shipwrecks his brother and his allies so that they will all be exiled together under his watch.
—Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
In her telling, the literature of the past lays traps into which the rich and powerful, the boorish and sadistic, inevitably stumble.
—Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
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Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026
There’s an element of sadistic, John Simonesque glee to his attacks on the personal appearances of actors.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, young boys gradually become feral and sadistic when trapped on an island together, and in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero magically shipwrecks his brother and his allies so that they will all be exiled together under his watch.
—Literary Hub, 11 May 2026
In her telling, the literature of the past lays traps into which the rich and powerful, the boorish and sadistic, inevitably stumble.
—Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sadistic
Cite this Entry
“Sadistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sadistic. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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