# Is there a non-sexual term for "sadist?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308 "2021-12-01T19:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/1 "2021-12-01T19:07:05Z")
I’m trying to come up with a term to describe some fictional character who simply enjoys inflicting as much suffering and misery on others as possible, but the term “sadist” (the most dictionary definition of such a person) unfortunately is usually sexual in nature these days (BDSM.) This isn’t a sexual situation. What other term would work? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/2 "2021-12-01T19:16:08Z")
Personally I’d go with “bully”. Maybe I’m behind the times, but the word sadistic doesn’t feel sexual to me. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/3 "2021-12-01T19:17:13Z")
Narcissist might work as well. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/4 "2021-12-01T19:40:01Z")
Sadist is not sexual. Or at least not to the extent that it would take me out of a story should an author use that word in a non sexual context. That said, I guess one could use sociopath or psychopath instead. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/5 "2021-12-01T19:43:35Z")
I’d stick with “sadist.” Maybe it’s just me, but it doesn’t automatically connote BDSM, and I use it and hear it outside that context all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/6 "2021-12-01T19:53:39Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Maybe I’m behind the times, but the word sadistic doesn’t feel sexual to me. Personally: “sadistic” = nonsexual “sadist” = probably nonsexual but could be sexual “sadism” = maybe sexual “sado-masochism” = definitely sexual If you really need an alternative, how about “cruel”? Although one could be cruel without _enjoying_ it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/7 "2021-12-01T20:07:17Z")
Just go with “monster”. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/8 "2021-12-01T21:10:43Z")
I think **cruel** is the proper word to describe someone who enjoys inflicting hurt non-sexually. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/9 "2021-12-01T21:14:55Z")
Taking pleasure in seeing others suffer seems pretty synonymous with “evil” in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/10 "2021-12-01T21:27:08Z")
I don’t think sadistic pleasure has to be sexual. It’s really the best word to describe someone who enjoys inflicting harm on others. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/11 "2021-12-01T21:36:19Z")
I’m going to agree that thanks to ‘50 Shades of Grey’ there is a stronger implication of sexuality to sadism, but it doesn’t exclude the plain reading either. For that matter, the character takes ‘pleasure’ in the torture per your original description - if it’s not a sexual pleasure, it’s probably adjacent, so again, the term stands. If it’s something extreme, such as an alien aesthetic that glorifies torture (which I’ve seen in at least 2-3 novels including “Illegal Aliens”), then you’re better off describing it. The old adage show, don’t tell ya know. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/12 "2021-12-01T21:55:20Z")
I can’t think of another term which automatically implies deriving pleasure from inflicting misery on others. “Cruel” is close, but people can be thoughtlessly cruel. Psychopaths lack empathy, but they aren’t necessarily sadistic any more than they’re necessarily murderers. You could say a person is “gleefully cruel,” or something to that effect. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/13 "2021-12-01T22:11:54Z")
Sure, a sadist can be “evil,” but “evil” does not specifically denote sadism. You can be evil in many different ways. Sadism is specific (and does not in and of itself denote a morality judgment like “evil”). Like I said, I commonly enough hear the word used in that way, like “my boss is a sadistic son of a bitch for overworking his employees” or something of that nature. Just like I use and hear the word “masochist” free from any BDSM connotations regularly (though that one is perhaps a tad more common.) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/14 "2021-12-01T22:17:59Z")
There’s really no better word than sadistic. Especially in fiction. Any latent sexual connotations of the word just make the character seem more depraved. I write romantic thrillers, so my take is that there’s not much literary distance between sex and violence. Both get the blood pumping. So it’s not a bad thing to mess with your reader’s head a bit. I am 100% confident that “this guy is a sadist” will not automatically have a sexual meaning to the majority of readers. BUT the fact that sometimes it does have a sexual meaning will only benefit your story. I hope that makes sense because it’s a subtle thing I’m trying to express. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-non-sexual-term-for-sadist/955308/15 "2021-12-01T22:20:28Z")
It does make sense. Thanks!