as in brutal
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others
the troubled youth is being treated by a psychotherapist for his sadistic urges to hurt animals
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sadistic
There, employees at a high-tech video game firm were digitally cloned and forced to participate in a bubble world universe aboard a Star Trek-like starship by the company's sadistic co-founder.
—
Jeff Spry, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2025
First, there’s whatever sadistic fates the filmmakers have in mind for the characters, from being impaled by a forklift to having their faces plunged into the propeller of the Staten Island Ferry.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
Take Stallone’s troubled Vietnam vet, Rambo, who hates prejudiced cops, duplicitous CIA agents and sadistic Soviet lieutenant colonels (not in that order).
—John Devore, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2025
Real fans, however, know that Grey’s Anatomy is actually an emotional torture device overseen by the brilliant and sadistic Shonda Rhimes, an agonizing exercise in grief and loss delivered in weekly installments.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sadistic
Jeff Spry, Space.com, 3 Apr. 2025
First, there’s whatever sadistic fates the filmmakers have in mind for the characters, from being impaled by a forklift to having their faces plunged into the propeller of the Staten Island Ferry.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025
Take Stallone’s troubled Vietnam vet, Rambo, who hates prejudiced cops, duplicitous CIA agents and sadistic Soviet lieutenant colonels (not in that order).
—John Devore, Rolling Stone, 31 Mar. 2025
Real fans, however, know that Grey’s Anatomy is actually an emotional torture device overseen by the brilliant and sadistic Shonda Rhimes, an agonizing exercise in grief and loss delivered in weekly installments.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sadistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sadistic
Adjective
-
But graduating in 2009 meant stepping into a brutal job market during the Great Recession.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
-
Andrews adds musical interludes, which don’t always work, and brutal jokes, which do.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Such evidence could support the view that incessant loud noise amounts to torture or cruel treatment towards cetaceans, in turn galvanizing support for a new right to be free from such harm.—
David Gruber,
Time,
24 Apr. 2025
-
But this is the cruel and unreasonable state of this Administration's deportation policy.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
This was a vicious weaponization of your government.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Employees losing jobs because companies will lay off workers to off-set the expense of tariffs will also mean fewer customers buying goods and services, creating a vicious cycle that depresses both corporate revenues and economic growth.—
Solange Charas,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
As savage Arctic cold was getting ready to surge south across North America, vivid imagery based on data from weather models showed us what was going to happen.—
Tom Yulsman,
Discover Magazine,
27 Dec. 2022
-
The 2023 grand marshal is former Arizona Democratic congresswoman Gabby Giffords, gravely wounded in a savage mass shooting in 2011 that also killed six people.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Dec. 2022
Adjective
-
O’Neil had shown a more ruthless streak in dealing with Lemina, stripping the midfielder of the captaincy after those embarrassing post-match scenes at West Ham.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
-
There is the ruthless spymaster Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård) and his mysterious assistant Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau).—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sadistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadistic. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share