death wish

American  

noun

• death wishes
  plural

1. desire for one's own death or for the death of another.

2. Psychiatry. a suicidal desire, manifested by passivity, withdrawal, and absorption in nihilistic thoughts, that may eventually lead to suicidal behavior.

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death wish British  

noun

1. (in Freudian psychology) the desire for self-annihilation See also Thanatos

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• death wishes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of death wish

First recorded in 1910–15

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

death wish

Sprinting robots hurtled themselves full-speed into a wall like Forrest Gump with a death wish.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

That so-called lust for life looks a lot like a death wish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

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

"You would have to have a death wish to go out now," one Iranian journalist reflected.

From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2026

“First Dana Matherson, now Beatrice the Bear. You got a death wish, Tex?”

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

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