death wish
Americannoun
-
desire for one's own death or for the death of another.
-
Psychiatry. a suicidal desire, manifested by passivity, withdrawal, and absorption in nihilistic thoughts, that may eventually lead to suicidal behavior.
noun
Etymology
Origin of death wish
First recorded in 1910–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If Evy is virtually alone in a house where strange noises are occurring at all hours, what would possess her to put on noise-canceling headphones, other than a death wish?
From Salon • Mar. 15, 2026
The director has said that he interprets the death wish in the opera as part of the cycle of rebirth.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 11, 2026
"You would have to have a death wish to go out now," one Iranian journalist reflected.
From BBC • Jan. 12, 2026
In the Northwest, winter hiking can feel like an exercise in misery at best and a possible death wish at worst, but not in Arizona.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2024
“Two Deckers riding an elevator on their End Day is either a death wish or the start to a bad joke.”
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
