MASOCHISM


Meaning of MASOCHISM in English

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

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.