Definition of "sadism" [sadism]

• The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. (noun)
• The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty. (noun)
• Extreme cruelty. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "That the existance of illegal acts of sadism is just as horrifying as mass sadism openly practiced and touted as a virtue by the highest officials in the government?"
• "But let's not talk as if sadism is about seeking God and just coming up short."
• "That overlooks or minimizes the element in sadism (and in all sin) of self-love in preference to other goods, including the Supreme Good."