suicidaladj.
/ˌsuːᵻˈsʌɪdl/, /ˌsjuːᵻˈsʌɪdl/, U.S. /ˌsuəˈsaɪd(ə)l/ 1.
a. Esp. of a course of action: disastrously damaging to oneself or one's interests; dangerous and ill-advised.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [adjective] > self-destructive or destroyed
self-destroying1613
self-destroyed1637
self-destructive1641
suicidal1768
auto-destructive1895
self-destruct1955
self-destructing1962
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > incautiousness > [adjective] > rash or reckless
recklesseOE
redmodOE
unreckless?c1225
hastivec1300
racklec1300
testyc1374
rabbisha1387
temeraryc1410
temerous1461
rash1509
temerarious1532
hare-brained1548
temerarec1550
hare-brain1566
hot-spurred1573
overrash1577
hotspur1586
madcap1591
wretchless1598
Phaetontic1608
zeal-blind1615
Phaetontal1617
unresponsable1619
Phaetontical1630
phaetonicala1640
Phaetonic1708
hell-bent1731
harum-scarum1751
unresponsible1764
suicidal1768
rumgumptious1781
shy1787
devil-may-care1799
bullheaded1818
devil-may-carish1825
temeritous1892
kamikaze1952
1768 G. Canning Let. to Earl of Hillsborough 44 When those Heats..are in some degree subsided, they will see that Liberty, armed by Licentiousness, must ever be suicidal.
1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! II. xii. 324 The Spaniard, by some suicidal pedantry, had allowed their navy to be crippled.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) V. 35 Though victory makes men insolent and is often suicidal to the victors, education is never suicidal.
1929 Times 2 Nov. 7/5 That could only be done with the abolition of the suicidal policy of price-cutting and competition.
1966 Illustr. London News 20 Aug. 29/3 What is a safe cornering speed in a well-shod Mini would be suicidal in several cars I could name.
2001 N.Y. Times 30 Sept. iv. 1/4 A month ago, the notion of allowing American troops on former Soviet soil would have been politically suicidal.
b. Of a person or animal: acting in a dangerously reckless manner, heedless of one's own safety or survival.
ΚΠ
1800 tr. Hist. Campaign II. xi. 240 There, as at Venice, the people were seen endeavouring to stop the Suicidal arm of government.
1867 H. Shepheard Ithuriel's Spear xiii. 177 Those who have been the suicidal authors of the movement will see the effects of their endeavours in the convulsions of all the elements of society.
1914 Autocar 24 Jan. 154/1 Coventry abounds in narrow streets, virulent blind corners, sudden steep pitches, and suicidal pedestrians.
2004 Wanderlust June 75/1 We headed for home, only to be stopped in our tracks by a suicidal frill-necked lizard that had crawled out into the middle of the road.
2014 M. McMahon Blue Folio xi. 112 Only suicidal politicians took bribes. The rest took handouts for their political action or leadership committees.
2.
a. Esp. of a thought, feeling, or inclination: of, relating to, or involving suicide.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > suicide > [adjective]
self-murdering1590
self-violent1640
suicidical1739
suicidal1794
1794 T. Maurice Indian Antiq. V. 219 These suicidal executions they consider as the sure road to paradise.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iii. iv. 119 With such weapons, homicidal and suicidal.
a1883 C. H. Fagge Princ. & Pract. Med. (1886) I. 741 Patients affected with this form of melancholia show suicidal tendencies.
1907 Colorado Springs Gaz. 27 Oct. 18/2 Caustic potash, washing soda, spirits of ammonia and other strong alkalis in common use in the household are frequently swallowed by mistake or with suicidal intent.
1970 R. Thorp & R. Blake Music of their Laughter 156/1 I didn't have any suicidal thoughts until the tail end of high school and the beginning of college.
1991 J. Sayers Mothering Psychoanal. ii. v. 52 Deutsch's patient came for treatment for suicidal depression.
2008 T. Cheney Manic (2009) iv. 46 When manic, I had the energy to act on those suicidal impulses—and I did. Repeatedly.
b. Of a person: having an urge or desire to take one's own life; inclining towards suicide.
ΚΠ
1826 London Mag. Mar. 365 The man of strong inspirations is suicidal, felo de se: he self-murders himself; and, to add to his crime, he does it unconsciously and inconsiderately.
1849 in R. Southey Common-place Bk. 2nd Ser. 252/2 (heading) A suicidal maniac through religious melancholy.
1902 Jrnl. Mental Sci. 48 493 Eight months afterwards she..was acutely depressed, self-accusing, and actively suicidal.
1968 J. Lennon Yer Blues in ‘The Beatles’ Lyrics (1998) 186 Feel so suicidal, Even hate my rock and roll.
2005 Daily Tel. 11 Feb. 20/1 The suicidal young man, Sonny, appeared to wave at him just before he jumped.
2014 N.Y. Mag. 22 Sept. 28/2 She became suicidal and was locked up in a psychiatric ward.
Compounds
suicidal ideation n. originally Psychology and Psychiatry the action or fact of thinking about, contemplating, or planning suicide; suicidal thoughts.
ΚΠ
1949 Pennsylvania Med. Jrnl. 52 1081/1 A patient may respond to a chronic disease by developing suicidal ideation.
2018 Guardian (Nexis) 2 Dec. Rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among the refugees and asylum seekers were exacerbated by family separation.
Derivatives
suiˈcidalism n. inclination towards suicide; suicidal disposition; = suicidism n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > suicide > [noun]
self-violence1532
self-slaughter1533
self-murder1570
self-destruction1572
self-death1583
self-killinga1586
self-homicide?1608
self-destroying1612
self-blood1621
suicide1643
autoctony1652
selfcide1692
suicism1751
suicidism1756
felo-de-se1771
felony-de-se1822
suicidalism1833
1833 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eng. & English I. i. iii. 83 The unparalleled suicidalism of the English.
2009 R. W. Firestone & J. Catlett Ethics Interpersonal Relationships 493 His borderline personality disorder, his sadomasochism, the depression he denied, his latent suicidalism, and his inability to confront the suffering in his life.
suiˈcidal-wise adv. rare suicidally; with regard to suicide.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > killing > suicide > [adverb]
suicidally1823
suicidal-wise1859
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [adverb] > self-destructively
suicidally1815
self-destructively1851
suicidal-wise1859
1859 W. Anderson Discourses 2nd Ser. iv. 73 You..will not permit its aspirations to have scope and expression; but, suicidalwise, suffocate them.
2015 @xWaterLilyx 29 July in twitter.com (accessed 17 June 2019) At the ER with a friend, prob for several hrs. She's at her worst suicidal-wise.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2020; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.1768