euthanasia
noun /ˌjuːθəˈneɪziə/
/ˌjuːθəˈneɪʒə/
[uncountable]- the practice of killing without pain a person or animal who is suffering from a disease that cannot be cured. Euthanasia of people is illegal in most countries. synonym mercy killing
- They argued in favour of legalizing voluntary euthanasia (= people being able to ask for euthanasia themselves).
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- voluntary
- involuntary
- non-voluntary
- …
- perform
- practise/practice
- legalize
- …
Word Originearly 17th cent. (in the sense ‘easy death’): from Greek, from eu ‘well’ + thanatos ‘death’.