noun
sadistic desires; sadistic feelings
Refers to the psychological tendency to derive pleasure from another's suffering. Often used in discussions of personality, dark psychology, or fictional character analysis.
彼の嗜虐心が、あの残酷な行動の背後にある。
His sadistic desires lie behind those cruel actions.
嗜虐心を抑えられない人は、周囲を傷つけてしまう。
People who cannot control their sadistic feelings end up hurting those around them.
嗜虐的 is the na-adjective form meaning 'sadistic', used to describe behavior or personality. 嗜虐心 is the noun for the underlying desire.
Compound of 嗜 (し, 'to have a taste for, to be fond of'), 虐 (ぎゃく, 'oppress, torment'), and 心 (しん, 'heart, mind'). The word is a modern coinage based on Sino-Japanese morphemes, likely influenced by Western psychological concepts of sadism.