Sadismus

[zaˈdɪsmʊs]

/[zaˈdɪsmʊs]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“Sadismus” is uncommon German (frequency #67,649 among 8,027 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,649
frequency rank, German
8,027
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - das Vergnügen, jemandem Leid zuzufügen

Corpus desk

Index DE-sadismus · Sadismus · German

Sadismus · rank #67,649 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,649
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 8,027
  • PHOTO-FINISH salis

Nearest frequency peer: salis (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Langschwanz-Ränge nahe „Sadismus“

Dünnes Band: Balken invertieren den Rang, seltenere Formen wirken kürzer

corpus weight

What this shows Langschwanz-Sicht: wo „Sadismus“ gegen ähnlich seltene deutsche Ränge sitzt.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Sadismus
PropertyValue
HeadwordSadismus
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[zaˈdɪsmʊs]
Letters8
Frequency rank#67,649
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „Sadismus“ im Deutschen

Die Häufigkeit läuft von den wenigen Alltagswörtern (links) bis zur langen, seltenen Schwanzseite (rechts).Sadismusfällt in diesen Seltenheitsbereich:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Seltene Nachbarn derselben Bandbreite: „salis“ (#67,650), „Satellitenbilder“ (#67,651), „sauge“ (#67,652). Unter 8,027 „S“-Lemmata liegt „Sadismus“ bei #67,649. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Sadismus is uncommon German at frequency #67,649 among 8,027 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [zaˈdɪsmʊs]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "das Vergnügen, jemandem Leid zuzufügen".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for Sadismus, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct German form is Sadismus, spelled S-A-D-I-S-M-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    das Vergnügen, jemandem Leid zuzufügen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Sadismus appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Spielt Sadismus eine zentrale Rolle beim Mobbing?
  2. „In friedlichen oder auch nur halbwegs geordneten Zeiten hätte ein Vater wie Walter Riedel seinen Sadismus kaum über so viele Jahre und womöglich auch nicht so exzessiv ausleben können.“

Antonyms

Masochismus

This word in other languages

sadism(English)sadisme(Français)sadismo(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Sadismus"?
"Sadismus" is spelled S-A-D-I-S-M-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is [zaˈdɪsmʊs].
What does "Sadismus" mean?
As a noun, "Sadismus" means: das Vergnügen, jemandem Leid zuzufügen
How do you pronounce "Sadismus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Sadismus" is [zaˈdɪsmʊs]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Sadismus" come from?
"Sadismus" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Sadismus", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Rückhand#67,645Rundflug#67,643Schoppen#67,668Reflexen#67,626

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list