Masochism is behaviour in which someone gets sexual pleasure from their own pain or suffering. The tendency towards masochism is however always linked with elements of sadism. sadism + masochist masochists maso·chist consensual sexual masochists
If you describe someone's behaviour as masochism, you mean that they seem to be trying to get into a situation which causes them suffering or great difficulty. Once you have tasted life in southern California, it takes a peculiar kind of masochism to return to a British winter. sadism + masochist maso·chist Anybody who enjoys this is a masochist. see also sado-masochism. Psychosexual disorder in which an individual achieves erotic release by being subjected to pain or humiliation. The term is derived from the name of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, a 19th-century Austrian novelist who wrote extensively about the sexual enjoyment he derived from verbal and physical abuse. The amount of pain involved can vary; it is usually sought out and to some degree controlled by the masochist. Masochistic and sadistic traits often occur in the same individual
If you describe someone's behaviour as masochistic, you mean that they seem to be trying to get into a situation which causes them suffering or great difficulty. It seems masochistic, somehow. sadistic see also sado-masochistic