seppuku
noun
sep·pu·ku
se-ˈpü-(ˌ)kü 
ˈse-pə-ˌkü
: hara-kiri sense 1
Mishima went back into the building, knelt on the floor and disemboweled himself with a samurai dagger in the ancient rite of seppuku.—
Tracy Dahlby
Tracy DahlbySeppuku remains a favorite theme in dramas and movies but has virtually disappeared from real life.—Edwin O. Reischauer
Edwin O. ReischauerExamples of seppuku in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Well, the details are totally different — like, no one’s committing seppuku with swords nowadays — but the politics of it are very much relevant.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024
Beyond the characters, there’s the show’s consideration of seppuku.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2024
During a meeting of the Council of Regents, one of Toranaga's samurai crosses a line and is forced to pledge seppuku to defuse the situation.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 21 Feb. 2024
Corporate seppuku: destroying your own product or brand.
—Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 24 July 2023
Letting out a loud scream, the samurai lifts his sword to decapitate Nobunaga, completing the warlord’s ritual suicide, or seppuku.
—Jacquelyne Germain, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2023
Ranmaru then also performed seppuku, asking Yasuke, in turn, to decapitate him.
—Jacquelyne Germain, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2023
Considering the state of discourse at Storrs, this is tantamount to academic seppuku.
—Aron Ravin, National Review, 3 Apr. 2022
This estranged Hayakawa from his father, who was ashamed of Hayakawa’s failure, and eventually led to Hayakawa attempting his samurai family’s tradition of seppuku.
—Jennifer Li, refinery29.com, 8 Sep. 2021
Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024
Beyond the characters, there’s the show’s consideration of seppuku.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 8 Mar. 2024
During a meeting of the Council of Regents, one of Toranaga's samurai crosses a line and is forced to pledge seppuku to defuse the situation.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 21 Feb. 2024
Corporate seppuku: destroying your own product or brand.
—Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 24 July 2023
Letting out a loud scream, the samurai lifts his sword to decapitate Nobunaga, completing the warlord’s ritual suicide, or seppuku.
—Jacquelyne Germain, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2023
Ranmaru then also performed seppuku, asking Yasuke, in turn, to decapitate him.
—Jacquelyne Germain, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2023
Considering the state of discourse at Storrs, this is tantamount to academic seppuku.
—Aron Ravin, National Review, 3 Apr. 2022
This estranged Hayakawa from his father, who was ashamed of Hayakawa’s failure, and eventually led to Hayakawa attempting his samurai family’s tradition of seppuku.
—Jennifer Li, refinery29.com, 8 Sep. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'seppuku.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Seppuku.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seppuku. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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