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
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Recent Examples of sadistic
What works: Washington is having a whale of a time as a sadistic machinator, relishing his role in a way that actors, perhaps voters of the Screen Actors Guild especially, will respond to.
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Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Most people—far from being naturally sadistic—were averse to inflicting painful shocks.
—Laura Niemi, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2024
What's worse, being infected by a sadistic demonic entity that feeds off its victims' trauma or the crushing loneliness of superstardom?
—Megan McCluskey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
This time, inspiration came from English writer H.G. Wells, whose sci-fi novel The Invisible Man — about a penniless researcher whose experiments in invisibility unlock a sadistic side to his personality — has become one of the all-time genre greats.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sadistic 
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Oct. 2024
Most people—far from being naturally sadistic—were averse to inflicting painful shocks.
—Laura Niemi, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2024
What's worse, being infected by a sadistic demonic entity that feeds off its victims' trauma or the crushing loneliness of superstardom?
—Megan McCluskey, TIME, 18 Oct. 2024
This time, inspiration came from English writer H.G. Wells, whose sci-fi novel The Invisible Man — about a penniless researcher whose experiments in invisibility unlock a sadistic side to his personality — has become one of the all-time genre greats.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sadistic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sadistic
Adjective
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Tyson was known for his brutal knockouts, as his first 19 fights ended early — 12 in the first round.Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 14 Nov. 2024
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In our age of brutal wars, authoritarian politics, cultures of contempt, and technology that promises to replace us with machines, what is left of the idea of the human being?George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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The in-person aspects of the contest have remained generally positive, but online, with each new addition, the very nature of commenting on people’s bodies, looks, and attractiveness is basically heavy bait for someone to eventually say something cruel.CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2024
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Yet some began to blanch at this cruel ostentation.Tim Gallagher, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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That forces him to descend the 8,000-foot-and-higher safety zone of the Rocky Mountains, and into the lower-elevation danger zone where vicious monsters roam free.John Wenzel, The Denver Post, 14 Nov. 2024
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Scott, the old pro, knows how to give these scenes a vicious vitality that overcomes any thoughts about how the Romans supposedly got live sharks in the water.Alison Willmore, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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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
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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
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Her wife and now-teenage daughter stood by her throughout the process, despite ruthless coverage from Mexican and Spanish news outlets, some of which continue to misgender and deadname her to this day.Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 21 Nov. 2024
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The ruthless military officer with the monocle and the swagger stick who sends his men to senseless death and/or turns traitor.Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near sadistic
Cite this Entry
“Sadistic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sadistic. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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