Other forms: sadists
A sadist is somebody who takes pleasure in cruelty. A cold sadist, called him a sadist, a sadist in charge.
The word is named after the Marquis de Sade, whose writings gave it to psychiatry. In everyday use it is thrown at anybody who enjoys another's discomfort, including a hard teacher — which is a long way from the clinical sense.
1nounsadistSomebody who takes pleasure in cruelty.
“The prison guard was a sadist who enjoyed making the prisoners suffer.”
sadist is a person.
The Marquis de Sade wrote books full of cruelty, and the doctors took his name for anyone who enjoys causing pain.
hooks ontopain
From the name of the Marquis de Sade, the French writer whose books described cruelty as pleasure.
From the name of the Marquis de Sade; see sadism.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA