adjective
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involving, indicating, or tending towards suicide
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liable to result in suicide
a suicidal attempt
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liable to destroy one's own interests or prospects; dangerously rash
Other Word Forms
- pseudosuicidal adjective
- suicidally adverb
- unsuicidal adjective
- unsuicidally adverb
Etymology
Origin of suicidal
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.
Black women have also historically reported suicidal ideation during the postpartum period at a rate roughly double that of white women.
From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026
She’s done extensive research showing that food insecurity is strongly associated with major maternal depressive symptoms; she points to research focused on the association between food insecurity and suicidal ideation and attempts in teenagers.
From Slate • Apr. 19, 2026
That involves developing mechanisms for what he describes as “avalanche decoupling”—basically the kind of total economic isolation that makes a war not just expensive, but suicidal for the Chinese economy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
“They faced homelessness and near suicidal depression before finding a path that took them through gender transition to a place of real identity, marriage, family and success as a scientist.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
Boats clattered against their moorings in the heavy chop but none left the harbor; to take one out in such a gale would’ve been suicidal.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
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.
