From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsadismsa‧dis‧m /ˈseɪdɪzəm/ noun [uncountable] 1 MPCRUELbehaviour in which someone gets pleasure from hurting other people or making them suffer → masochism There seemed to be an element of sadism in the training regime.2 SYCRUELwhen someone gets sexual pleasure from hurting someone → masochism
Examples from the Corpus
sadism• Sadism may stem from a desire to dominate.• Mzukwa grew quiet as he recalled the brutality and sadism of the prison guards.• This would make the link between sadism and masochism more clear.• But sadism, as we have noticed, in intensifying awareness also distorts it.• This scene was criticised for its accusation of sadism by the Viet Cong in a form which was unsupported by any evidence.• Compared to his adulthood of sadism, cruelty and murder, his childhood of abuse and rejection looks benign.• Not a matter of sadism but rather convenience, as there were neither contingencies nor facilities for prisoners here.• There is a streak of sadism in his performance which leads us to expect an answering streak of masochism in Katherine.• He looked grim as he recalled the sadism of the prison guards.Origin sadism (1800-1900) French sadisme, from the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), French writer who described cruel sexual practices 