death wish

noun

: the conscious or unconscious desire for the death of oneself or of another

Examples of death wish in a Sentence

Have you seen the way she drives? She must have a death wish.

Recent Examples on the Web

With his newfound resolve/death wish, Jacob is determined to keep his sister’s and nephew’s killers on that bridge until backup arrives. — Chris Klimek, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026

And these were just the animals and machines trying to do you in, not to mention the glare of the sun, the Feds, or some bad-seed trimmer with a crush or a death wish. — Literary Hub, 22 June 2026

Some readers heard a structural argument about demographics and housing; others heard a death wish aimed at the Baby Boom generation. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 31 May 2026

Their argument was that the call of the void is not in fact a death wish. — Philip Maymin, Forbes.com, 25 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1856, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for death wish

• bluefish
• catfish
• codfish
• crawfish
• dogfish
• finfish
• flatfish
• goldfish
• groundfish
• kingfish
• offish
• redfish

Medical Definition

death wish

noun

: the conscious or unconscious desire for the death of another or of oneself

called also destrudo