hara-kiri
Also called seppuku. ceremonial suicide by ripping open the abdomen with a dagger or knife: formerly practiced in Japan by members of the warrior class when disgraced or sentenced to death.
suicide or any suicidal action; a self-destructive act: political hara-kiri.
Origin of hara-kiri
1- Also ha·ri-ka·ri [hahr-ee-kahr-ee, har-ee-kar-ee] /ˈhɑr iˈkɑr i, ˈhær iˈkær i/ .
Words Nearby hara-kiri
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hara-kiri in a sentence
So I suspect Daschle made it easier for Obama by committing hara-kiri.
Saying a prayer by the water's edge, he committed hara-kiri.
Myths & Legends of Japan | F. Hadland (Frederick Hadland) DavisIt was with this short sword that the famous hara-kiri was committed.
The Old World and Its Ways | William Jennings BryanNow, my readers will understand that hara-kiri, or seppuku, was not a mere suicidal process.
Civil war in America; universal hara-kiri in Europe; the dry rot of wealth wasting itself in self-indulgence.
Marse Henry (Vol. 1) | Henry Watterson
He took it with the expression of one to whom a nice, shiny blade has just been handed for purposes of hara-kiri.
Little Miss Grouch | Samuel Hopkins Adams
British Dictionary definitions for hara-kiri
hari-kari (ˌhærɪˈkɑːrɪ)
/ (ˌhærəˈkɪrɪ) /
(formerly, in Japan) ritual suicide by disembowelment with a sword when disgraced or under sentence of death: Also called: seppuku
Origin of hara-kiri
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for hara-kiri
[ (har-i-keer-ee, hahr-uh-keer-ee) ]
A ritual of suicide, associated with warriors in traditional Japanese society.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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