variants
also hari-kari
as in suicide
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Recent Examples of hara-kiri
When the soldiers, instead of rising up, jeered at him, Mishima killed himself in the classic samurai fashion: performing hara-kiri, or seppuku (as the Japanese more commonly call it), by plunging a sword into his abdomen before a uniformed disciple sliced his head off.
—
Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
The film depicts the historical ‘Honno-ji Incident’ from 1582, when a key vassal of Oda Nobunaga rose in revolt and caused his master to commit hara-kiri in Kyoto.
—Mark Schilling, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023
Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
The film depicts the historical ‘Honno-ji Incident’ from 1582, when a key vassal of Oda Nobunaga rose in revolt and caused his master to commit hara-kiri in Kyoto.
—Mark Schilling, Variety, 17 Apr. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hara-kiri
Noun
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Hutchinson's trial judge rejected that, instead agreeing with two prosecution psychologists and saying that no correlation between Hutchinson's diagnosis and the murders had been established, reported the Lakeland Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
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After a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the initial murder trial last year, Read is being retried on charges including second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a collision causing death.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
2 May 2025
Noun
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Most gun deaths are intentional, with suicides accounting for 58% and homicides for 38% of 46,728 gun deaths in 2023.—
David Yamane,
The Conversation,
1 May 2025
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Dolton, Riverdale deaths The medical examiner’s office also reported a homicide in Dolton involving a Chicago man.—
Mike Nolan,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2025
Noun
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Yolo County District Attorney’s prosecutors decided not to pursue the death penalty in the slayings.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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The manhunt The slaying of Pascal shocked in the Upper Florida Keys community, which, while certainly not immune from crime, rarely experiences brutal murders.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2025
Noun
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But on Wednesday, a grand jury indicted her on the charge of assisting self-murder/manslaughter, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.—
Frank Fernandez,
USA TODAY,
24 Feb. 2023
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The initial charge of first-degree murder has been reduced to assisting self-murder/manslaughter.—
Frank Fernandez,
USA TODAY,
24 Feb. 2023
Noun
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The officers who reported to the scene did not find any evidence of foul play.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
24 Apr. 2025
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Police previously said preliminary information suggested foul play was not involved.—
Zach Powell,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hara-kiri.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hara-kiri. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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