Meaning & use
masochist
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
Someone who gets enjoyment, often of a sexual kind, from suffering pain or being humiliated or controlled.
Grammar: Takes a/an in the singular: he is a masochist; they are masochists.
Patterns
- a masochist for something
The psychologist explained that a masochist may seek out pain because it triggers a pleasurable response.
In the case study, the patient described himself as a masochist and sought treatment for related distress.
Clinicians avoid calling anyone a masochist unless the pattern is persistent and well documented.
nouncountableinformalhumorous
Someone who seems to choose hard, painful or unpleasant activities and appears to like them.
Grammar: Used jokingly of ordinary people: you must be a masochist to run in this heat.
Patterns
- a masochist for something
You have to be a masochist to sign up for a 5 a.m. swimming class in January.
My brother is a masochist when it comes to spicy food; he orders the hottest dish every time.
Only a masochist would volunteer to do everyone's tax returns at the last minute.
Word forms
| plural | masochists |
|---|
Common combinations
- a self-confessed masochist
- She is a self-confessed masochist who signs up for every ultramarathon she can find.
- have to be a masochist to
- You have to be a masochist to enjoy cleaning the oven with a toothbrush.
- call someone a masochist
- His friends call him a masochist because he keeps taking on impossible deadlines.
- sexual masochist
- The article distinguishes a sexual masochist from someone who simply tolerates discomfort.
- a bit of a masochist
- I'm a bit of a masochist, I suppose, since I like extremely hilly bike routes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sadomasochist
- This covers someone who enjoys both inflicting and receiving pain, while masochist covers only receiving it.
- glutton for punishment
- This is a lighter, idiomatic phrase for someone who keeps taking on hard work, with no clinical or sexual meaning.
- martyr
- A martyr suffers on purpose to gain sympathy or serve a cause, not because the suffering is pleasurable.
Opposites
Word family
- masochism noun
- the condition or tendency of getting pleasure from pain
- masochistic adjective
- relating to or showing masochism
- masochistically adverb
- in a way that seems to enjoy suffering
- sadomasochism noun
- enjoyment of both giving and receiving pain
Commonly confused: masochist or sadist?
masochist vs sadist
A sadist enjoys causing pain to others, whereas a masochist enjoys experiencing it.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'masochist' in its everyday, joking sense?
Choose one answer.
Only the second option uses the noun naturally, for someone who seems to like unpleasant things. The others misuse it as a medicine, a verb or an object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “masochist”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.