hara-kiri

American  

[hahr-uh-keer-ee, har-uh-, har-ee-] / ˈhɑr əˈkɪər i, ˈhær ə-, ˈhær i- /

Also hari-kari

noun

1. 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.

2. suicide or any suicidal action; a self-destructive act.

   political hara-kiri.

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hara-kiri British  

/ ˌhærəˈkɪrɪ, ˌhærɪˈkɑːrɪ /

noun

1. Also called: seppuku. (formerly, in Japan) ritual suicide by disembowelment with a sword when disgraced or under sentence of death

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hara-kiri Cultural  

1. A ritual of suicide, associated with warriors in traditional Japanese society.

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Etymology

Origin of hara-kiri

First recorded in 1855–60; from Japanese, equivalent to hara “belly” (earlier fara, from unattested para ) + kiri “cut”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hara-kiri

"We cannot commit hara-kiri with the hope of hurting Russia"

From Reuters ● Apr. 20, 2022

Campaign strategists largely regard unprompted confessionals as a pointless form of political hara-kiri.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 19, 2018

The historical basis lies in events at the beginning of that century, when a lord, Asano, was ordered to commit hara-kiri after a conflict with another lord, Kira.

From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2013

Some said it could have been "a little bit of professional hara-kiri," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2013

When a Samurai has to perform hara-kiri by the command of his own feudal lord, the ceremony should take place in one of the lesser palaces of the clan.

From Tales of Old Japan by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, Baron Redesdale

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