How to Use BDSM in a Sentence

BDSM

abbreviation or noun
  • The script also stirs in a BDSM tryst between two servants in a stable.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026
  • During the film’s press tour, the actor has leaned into the biker and BDSM theme for his appearances.
    — Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Olivia Wilde cosplaying as a BDSM Norma Desmond.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026
  • Gender is often ambiguous—or beside the point—with getups ranging from church lady to dance-hall tart to BDSM munchkin.
    — Jeremy Lybarger, Artforum, 2 June 2026
  • Sernin has emerged as a favorite for celebrities looking to elevate lingerie- and BDSM-inspired looks for the red carpet.
    — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The duo dances during the first verse, while the second verse introduces a BDSM vibe showcasing the model dragging Tyler on a whip.
    — Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Cathy's red latex gowns and leather corsets might underline the BDSM push and pull of her torrid romance with Heathcliff in the second half of the film.
    — Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Melling first broke out for his role as Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films, a far cry from the world of BDSM.
    — Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 5 Feb. 2026
  • The actors were careful to ensure that Colin seemed game, rather than forced — an important aspect of a BDSM relationship.
    — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Perhaps there really are BDSM biker gangs hosting afternoon picnics with serving boys tied spread-eagled on a buffet table.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
  • In the movie, Cathy discovers her sexuality while watching two household staff members engage in BDSM with horse bridles.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
  • First and foremost, the erotic interactions involved in BDSM play and the intentional re-scripting of power provide much of the pleasure.
    — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026
  • Heathcliff sticks his fingers in a broken egg, Cathy watches her servants enjoying a BDSM moment in the stables while Heathcliff covers her mouth and eyes.
    — Meg Walters, Glamour, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Women with borderline personality disorder are roughly twice as likely to practice BDSM as those without.
    — Victor J. Blue, Harpers Magazine, 23 Nov. 2025
  • Even if people have no interest in exploring BDSM practices themselves, there is so much to be learned about sexuality from these erotic communities.
    — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026
  • Since opening last fall, Kink Cafe’s growing popularity represents a shift in how the public engage with BDSM culture.
    — Victoria M. Walker, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 May 2026
  • And his recent work, from the underrated Murderbot to his newest role in the gay BDSM comedy Pillion, reflects his offbeat, silly tastes.
    — Charu Sinha, Vulture, 1 Feb. 2026
  • In the film, Skarsgård plays a member of a gay biker gang who enters into a BDSM relationship with Melling's character, who has no experience in that world.
    — Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Like our sexualities, BDSM contains multitudes.
    — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026
  • Acknowledging the relationship between past trauma and present pleasure, however, opens up critiques of BDSM as psychopathology.
    — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026
  • Ares, while Alexander Skarsgård promoted his BDSM rom-com Pillion by going full leather daddy—including a pair of thigh-high leather Saint Laurent boots.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 30 Dec. 2025
  • The 32-year-old content creator called police and tried to perform CPR once the 56-year-old, who paid Rylaarsdam for the BDSM session, began to turn blue.
    — Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026
  • And over time, as politicians and religious leaders have pushed for the regulation and public condemnation of those who practice BDSM, people have formed communities to support one another and create spaces for pleasure.
    — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026
  • What the restaurant represents to its supporters (and those hesitant but curious) is a shift in public interest in, and acceptance of bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism (BDSM).
    — Victoria M. Walker, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 May 2026
  • Van Beirendonck gravitates toward loud prints in bright colors and allusions to BDSM, whereas Van Saene makes elegant cocktail dresses for women with bow details and shrunken cardigans.
    — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Romcom Rover went to Pillion’s Maggie, played by Rosie the Rottweiler, and was presented to her by her human co-star Paul Tallis, one of the film’s many BDSM bikers.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2026
  • The collection, Habana told USA TODAY before the show, was inspired by both BDSM and a desire to play with proportions.
    — Anika Reed, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
  • By contrast, Erika is a vamp, a woman whose wardrobe encompasses high fashion and BDSM — maybe this is what makes Erika choose him to be her assistant, just as her icy, dominatrix cool appeals to the refreshingly artless Elliot.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Researchers have documented positive mental health outcomes associated with participating in BDSM play, including decreasing levels of cortisol, often called our stress hormone.
    — Literary Hub, 17 June 2026
  • The Cenobites, clearly inspired by leather and BDSM culture, are reimagined here as terrifyingly fashionable beings who feel truly alien — an aesthetic praised for its verisimilitude to Clive Barker’s original vision.
    — Samantha Allen, Them., 7 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'BDSM.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: