suicidal ideation

noun

: the act of thinking about or a state of preoccupation with ending one's own life : the act of considering or planning suicide

He had been hospitalized several times for depression and suicidal ideation: the previous summer he had checked himself into a hospital in Laramie.

—Melanie Thernstrom

Alleviating gender dysphoria and aligning gender expression with identity through these treatments can lower stress, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and significantly lessen suicidal ideation.

—Orion Rummler

Examples of suicidal ideation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The condition’s link to suicide and suicidal ideation is an area of active study, in part because there seems to be a higher rate of CTE than expected among high-caliber athletes who have committed suicide, Lord said. —Shreya Srinivasan, NBC news, 29 July 2025

He’s been charged with a D.U.I., acknowledged suicidal ideation, and berated paparazzi for bothering him at the beach. —Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 16 July 2025

Craig had told several people Angela was suffering suicidal ideations leading up to her death, according to the affidavit. —Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 15 July 2025

From 2017-2023, all measures of suicidal ideations among Tennessee high school students increased, with 15% attempting suicide in 2023. —Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for suicidal ideation

• acclimatisation
• acclimatization
• acidification
• actualization
• annualization
• autocorrelation
• autoregulation
• beatification
• beneficiation
• biodegradation
• biotransformation
• bureaucratization

Medical Definition

suicidal ideation

noun

: the act of thinking about or a state of preoccupation with ending one's own life : the act of considering or planning suicide

Depression appears to be one of the strongest predictors of suicidal ideation but does not appear to distinguish those who have attempted suicide from those who have experienced suicidal ideation without attempts.

—E. David Klonsky et al., Annual Review of Clinical Psychology

Burnout among medical students seems to be an important predictor of subsequent suicidal ideation even without symptoms of depression.

—Liselotte N. Dyrbye et al., Annals of Internal Medicine