masochism - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mas·och·ism

Audio Help [mas-uh-kiz-uh

m, maz-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	Psychiatry. the condition in which sexual gratification depends on suffering, physical pain, and humiliation.

2.	gratification gained from pain, deprivation, degradation, etc., inflicted or imposed on oneself, either as a result of one's own actions or the actions of others, esp. the tendency to seek this form of gratification.

3.	the act of turning one's destructive tendencies inward or upon oneself.

4.	the tendency to find pleasure in self-denial, submissiveness, etc.

[Origin: 1890–95; named after L. von Sacher-Masoch, who described it; see -ism

]

—Related forms

mas·och·ist, noun

mas·och·is·tic, adjective

mas·och·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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masochism

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mas·och·ism Audio Help (mās'ə-kĭz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.

The deriving of sexual gratification, or the tendency to derive sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally abused.
The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from being humiliated or mistreated, either by another or by oneself.
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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
masochism

"sexual pleasure in being hurt or abused," 1893, from Ger. Masochismus, coined 1883 by Ger. neurologist Richard von Krafft-Ebing (1840-1902), from name of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-95), Austrian novelist who enshrined his submissive sexuality in "Venus in Furs."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

masochism
noun
sexual pleasure obtained from receiving punishment (physical or psychological)

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
masochism [(mas-uh-kiz-uhm)]

Abnormal behavior characterized by deriving sexual gratification from being subjected to pain. More loosely, masochism refers to deriving any pleasure from experiencing pain. (Compare sadism.)

[Chapter:] Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology

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