sadistic tendency
- noun
- /səˈdɪstɪk ˈtɛndənsi/
- Offensive
:
tendencia sádica
- Counselors discussed ways to help patients manage a sadistic tendency in therapeutic settings.
Examples
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His sadistic tendency was evident during the game.
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Her novel explores the sadistic tendency present in some authoritarian figures.
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The detective suspected the criminal had a sadistic tendency that drove his violent crimes.
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She has a sadistic tendency that surprises her friends.
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The sadistic tendency of the villain was evident as he tormented his victims for his own amusement.
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She became aware of her sadistic tendency when she found herself enjoying others' discomfort during the game.
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His sadistic tendency shocked his friends, who could not understand how he could find joy in others' pain.
Synonyms
11
8.4
A desire to get sexual pleasure from hurting other people
How Sadistic
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a straightforward composition of the parts: 'sadistic' (finding pleasure in inflicting suffering) + 'tendency' (an inclination), so an inclination to behave sadistically is directly inferable. There is no idiomatic or metaphoric shift here and the construction mirrors common patterns in other languages, making it accessible to learners who know both words.
Etymology
The expression sadistic tendency comes from the name of a French writer, the Marquis de Sade, who wrote about people who enjoyed causing pain. So, 'sadistic' came to mean 'taking pleasure in hurting others', and a sadistic tendency means a habit of doing that.