ˈmazəˌkizəm, ˈmas- noun
( -s )
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary masoch- (from Leopold von Sacher- Masoch died 1895 German novelist) + -ism
1.
a. : a tendency to direct aggressive or destructive impulses against one's own ego in order to reduce the anxiety attendant on anticipated inevitable punishment or to gain positive gratification through identification with a loved one who was formerly a source of pain
b. : a tendency to assume a role of submissiveness and apparently to enjoy humiliation as the outcome of feelings of worthlessness
c. : a tendency to gain or to increase sexual gratification through the acceptance of physical abuse or humiliation — compare algolagnia
d. : a tendency to take pleasure in physical or mental suffering inflicted on one by oneself or by another or in the practice of extreme self-denial or self-punishment : a taste for suffering
there's a broad streak of puritan masochism in our character — K.S.Davis
2. : the practice of masochistic tendencies
it was a form of masochism … to condemn oneself needlessly to the tantrums of a capricious climate — Jean Stafford