seppuku
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of seppuku
First recorded in 1900–05; from Japanese, earlier s(y)et-puku, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese qiè “cut” + fù “belly”
Vocabulary lists containing seppuku
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.
As a result, I was more familiar with Mishima’s life — the turn to ultraright nationalism, the attempted coup and his ensuing death by seppuku — than with his art.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2024
So, I commit first-date seppuku and tell him about my lens and my vision loss.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2024
Cicadas have a much higher-stakes conundrum when it comes to their sort of reproductive seppuku: they die shortly after mating, offering themselves up in order to ensure the continuation of the next generation.
From Scientific American • Jun. 14, 2021
It sounds as if she would gladly commit seppuku, if only that didn’t require the sin of cultural appropriation: “I am wholly sorry for the pain and anger I caused you,” she wrote.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 21, 2016
"Your Junker friend thinks I should perform seppuku."
From The Mercenaries by Piper, H. Beam
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.
