masochistic
Craves personal pain
Masochistic describes deriving pleasure from one's own pain or suffering.
The term comes from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose novels depicted characters who sought sexual gratification through humiliation and physical pain.
Beyond the sexual sense, masochistic describes any seemingly perverse enjoyment of hardship: There's something masochistic about running ultramarathons.
The word often carries judgment—implying the behavior is irrational or self-destructive.
Hurting oneself for wrongdoing
- submissionYielding to another's will
- humiliationLoss of dignity
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
- self-destructiveHarmful to oneself
self-defeating · compulsion · guilt · shame · powerlessness · degradation · dominance · control
Undermining your own goals
Tender, painful sensation
- stingSharp wound from insect
- burnDamage by heat
- throbBeat with intensity
- achePersistent dull discomfort
discomfort · endurance · punishment · suffering · spasm · flagellation · bondage · piercing
self-punishment
Hurting oneself for wrongdoing
- submissionYielding to another's will
- humiliationLoss of dignity
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
self-destructive · self-defeating · compulsion · guilt · shame · powerlessness · degradation · dominance · control · fetishism
self-sabotage
Undermining your own goals
- gruelingExtremely tiring and demanding
- punishingExtremely taxing or severe
- torturousCausing extreme pain
agonizing · martyrdom · self-imposed · arduous · relentless
soreness
Tender, painful sensation
ache · discomfort · endurance · punishment · suffering · spasm · flagellation · bondage · piercing · branding
masochisticsadistic
Finding pleasure in cruelty
cruel · tormenting · abusive · domineering · brutal
masochist, masochists, masochistically, sadomasochists, sadomasochistic, sadomasochist