Euthanasia is the practice of killing someone who is very ill and will never get better in order to end their suffering, usually done at their request or with their consent.
Synonyms: assisted suicide, mercy killing More Synonyms of euthanasia
euthanasia in British English
(ˌjuːθəˈneɪzɪə) or euthanasy (juːˈθænəsɪ)
noun
the act of killing someone painlessly, esp to relieve suffering from an incurable illness
Also called: mercy killing
Word origin
C17: via New Latin from Greek: easy death, from eu- + thanatos death
euthanasia in American English
(ˌjuθəˈneɪʒə; ˌjuθəˈneɪʒiə; ˌjuθəˈneɪziə)
noun
1. Rare
an easy and painless death
2.
act or practice of causing death painlessly, so as to end suffering: advocated by some as a way to deal with persons dying of incurable, painful diseases
Word origin
Gr, painless, happy death < eu- (see eu-) + thanatos, death: see dull
Synonyms of 'euthanasia'
assisted suicide, mercy killing
More Synonyms of euthanasia
(noun)
Definition
the act of killing someone painlessly, esp. to relieve suffering from an incurable illness
the emotive question of whether euthanasia should be legalized