survivor guilt
noun Psychiatry.
feelings of guilt for having survived a catastrophe in which others died.
Nearby words
survival value, survivalist, survive, surviver, survivor, survivor guilt, survivor syndrome, survivorship, sus, sus laws, sus-
Compare survivor syndrome.
Origin of survivor guilt
First recorded in 1970–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Culture definitions for survivor guilt
survivor guilt
A deep sense of guilt, combined often with feelings of numbness and loss of interest in life, felt by those who have survived some catastrophe. It was first noticed among survivors of the Holocaust. Survivors often feel that they did not do enough to save those who died or that they are unworthy relative to the perished.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
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