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mas·och·ism

(măs′ə-kĭz′əm)

1. The deriving of sexual gratification from fantasies or acts that involve being made to suffer physical or mental pain. Also called sexual masochism.

2. The deriving of pleasure from being humiliated or mistreated, either by another or by oneself.

3. A willingness or tendency to subject oneself to unpleasant or trying experiences.

[After Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-1895), Austrian novelist .]

mas′och·ist n.

mas′och·is′tic adj.

mas′och·is′ti·cal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adv.

masochistically - in a masochistic manner; "masochistically he insisted on an even greater workload"

Translations

masochistically

adv → masochistisch

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in periodicals archive

Some of the animals even try to masochistically throw them around for the fun of it.

'A person is a person no matter how small'

Alas, looking at the social and digital activities of hotels and restaurants in the region, I often suspect that there are a number of masochistically inclined companies out there, who prefer to be stuck in a Groundhog Day-like cycle of repeating the same mistakes rather than mustering up enough energy and creativity to make new mistakes.

Comment: Continuous failure

Sadly, May seems embarrassed by Brexit, and masochistically keen to be punished for it.

May's leadership is ruining the UK

"I'm not going to be the one that hurts him," she insists masochistically, and a little bafflingly.

Film review: Midnight Sun *

Among these could be both Kashmir and Afghanistan, vying to control which has forced Pakistan's hands into masochistically backing Islamist militancy on both sides, which continues to boomerang on the state.

Let's reheat the waters

On the other hand, I don't think people should masochistically try to feel poor, only to test what they are able to manage.

Robert Bezak: We like to hear people tell us that they will solve our problems

Could Suzanne masochistically enjoy the sadistic suffering which is inflicted upon her?

Rivette's The Nun: Religion between Sadism and Masochism

No Beatrice, however, Dimmesdale masochistically submits to Chillingworth's sadistic advances in mutually pleasurable encounters that, while not necessarily genitally engaged, are yet as sexual as the moment of Pearl's conception.

"I feel a giddy sickness of strange awe": Chillingworth, Cenci, and the Silent Pleasure of Pain