right-to-die

[ rahyt-tuh-dahy ]

/ ˈraɪt təˈdaɪ /

adjective

asserting or advocating the right to refuse extraordinary medical measures to prolong one's life when one is terminally ill or irreversibly comatose: right-to-die laws.

QUIZZES

Discover The Influence Of Portuguese On English Via This Quiz!

We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?

Question 1 of 11

Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?

owl

crow

piranha

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby right-to-die

right-of-center, right-on, right-side out, right-side up, right-thinking, right-to-die, right-to-know, right-to-left shunt, right-to-life, right-to-work, right-to-work law

Origin of right-to-die

First recorded in 1975–80

Medical definitions for right-to-die

right-to-die

adj.

Advocating or expressing, as in a living will, a person's right to refuse extraordinary life-sustaining measures intended to prolong life artificially when the person is deemed by his or her physicians to be terminally or incurably ill.