From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmasochismmas‧o‧chis‧m /ˈmæsəkɪzəm/ noun [uncountable] 1 SYsexual behaviour in which someone gains pleasure from being hurt or punished → sadism, sado-masochism2 HURT/CAUSE PAINbehaviour that makes it seem that someone wants to suffer or have problems Unconscious masochism seemed to drive her from one disaster to the next. —masochist noun [countable] —masochistic /ˌmæsəˈkɪstɪk◂/ adjective masochistic behavior —masochistically /-kli/ adverb
Examples from the Corpus
masochism• This would make the link between sadism and masochism more clear.• Very much the same comments apply as in the case of sadism and masochism.• There is a streak of sadism in his performance which leads us to expect an answering streak of masochism in Katherine.• A bit of a sadist, maybe with a touch of masochism thrown in too.• Her ability to endure his violence is not seen as helplessness or masochism, but rather as evidence of her moral strength.• By 1985, when the psychoanalysts attempted to reintroduce masochism, a backlash against feminism, against uppity women, was current.• She's crazy, trying to work, bring up a kid, and go to school too - it's masochism.• Part of this is sheer masochism.• You can reject the masochism and still agree that love is worth the terrors that can sometimes come with it.Origin masochism (1800-1900) Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-95), Austrian writer who described such sexual behavior 