sadism
/ˈseɪdɪzəm/noun
sadism is spelled S-A-D-I-S-M: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sadism means “The enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation without pity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sadism is sadisms.
How many letters and syllables are in sadism?
| Letters | 6: S-A-D-I-S-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 48,775th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sadism?
Sadism appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 48,775th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sadism?
- UK /ˈseɪdɪzəm/
- US /ˈseɪdɪzəm/
- US [ˈseɪɾɪzəm]
Sadism has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sadism.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-NaomiAmethyst-sadism.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of sadism
- sadisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sadism mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation without pity.
- 2
Achievement of sexual gratification by inflicting pain or humiliation on others, or watching pain or humiliation inflicted on others.
- 3
Deliberate or wanton cruelty, either mental or physical, to other people, or to animals, regardless of whether for (sexual) gratification.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sadism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense psychology: the enjoyment of inflicting pain or humiliation:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sadism come from?
From French sadisme and German Sadismus. Named after the Marquis de Sade, famed for his libertine writings depicting the pleasure of inflicting pain to others.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).