suicidal

adjective sui·cid·al \ ˌsü-ə-ˈsī-dᵊl \

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Examples: suicidal in a Sentence

Definition of suicidal

1 a : dangerous especially to life

b : destructive to one's own interests

2 : relating to or of the nature of suicide

3 : marked by an impulse to commit suicide

—

suicidally

adverb

See suicidal defined for English-language learners

Examples of suicidal in a Sentence

psychiatrists working with suicidal patients
He knows that supporting a tax increase would be politically suicidal.

Recent Examples of suicidal from the Web

But suicidal charges are less advised for political parties.

— william mcgurn, WSJ, "Dick Durbin’s Supreme Sacrifice," 9 July 2018
Accessory drive belts seldom jump off in a suicidal fit.

— bob weber, Philly.com, "Drive belts don't just fall off in the rain," 7 July 2018
Griffin sings in the original) to describe a suicidal teenager.

— stephen daw, Billboard, "Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles Talks Covering Patty Griffin's 'Tony' & Making Country Music LGBTQ-Inclusive," 5 July 2018
Jacqueline Wright plays a suicidal woman who forms an emotional bond with a violent home invader in this perverse psychological thriller based on her stage play.

— frank scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Eat Me': Film Review," 5 July 2018
Deputies arrived at the scene, responding to reports of a man with a gun who was possibly suicidal, reported The Orange County Register.

— candace braun davison, House Beautiful, "Christina El Moussa Gets Heartbreakingly Honest About Her Divorce From Tarek," 2 July 2018
As a member of ESU, Detective Guerrero has to prepare for any scenario, including suicidal jumpers.

— CBS News, "Profiles in Service: Meet the NYPD's only female counter-sniper," 2 July 2018
The findings show that students who became involved with Active Minds were more likely to reach out to a classmate or friend struggling with a mental health issue, including mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, and even suicidal ideation.

— elly belle, Teen Vogue, "Mental Health Resources on College Campuses Are Essential, Survey Shows," 27 June 2018
Police said Parker is missing from her home after making verbal suicidal threats.

— sarah brookbank, Cincinnati.com, "Police: Critical missing Hartwell woman made suicidal threats," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'suicidal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of suicidal

1777

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

SUICIDAL Defined for English Language Learners

suicidal

adjective

Definition of suicidal for English Language Learners

: wanting to kill yourself : showing a desire to kill yourself
: extremely dangerous : likely to cause your death : likely to cause great harm to yourself