# sadism vs sadist

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sadism
*noun · IPA /ˈseɪdɪzəm/ · frequency rank #49,026*
The enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation without pity.

### sadist
*noun · IPA /ˈseɪdɪst/ · frequency rank #44,466*
One who derives pleasure through cruelty or pain to others.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sadism-vs-sadist