I. ˈsüəˌsīd noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin sui (gen.), sibi (dative), se (accusative & abl.) oneself + English -cide; akin to Old English sīn his, Old High German sih (accusative) oneself, sīn his, Old Norse sik (accusative) oneself, sīnn one's own, Gothic sik oneself, seins his, Latin suus one's own, Greek he (accusative) oneself, hos, heos one's own, Sanskrit sva oneself, one's own
1.
a. : the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally : self-destruction
the death was adjudged a suicide
b. : the deliberate and intentional destruction of his own life by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind : felo-de-se 2
civilizations … in which suicide was considered a completely honorable act — New Republic
c. : ruin of one's own interests
drove into revolt or artistic suicide every student with an ounce of vitality in him — Clive Bell
the proposal … is likely to be an invitation to political suicide — Frank Gorrell
2. : one that commits or attempts self-murder : felo-de-se 1
had a suicide ' s temperament, careless of life — J.H.Plumb
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
: to commit suicide
the unfortunate man had suicided — D.D.Martin
transitive verb
: to put (as oneself) to death : kill
after Brutus, aged twelve, had suicided himself — E.M.Forster
III. adjective
1.
[ suicide (I) ]
: constituting a suicide
his suicide brother — E.A.Mowrer
the problem of the suicide blonde — J.P.O'Donnell
2.
[ suicide (I) ]
a. : resulting in or likely to result in the death of the individual or a high proportion of deaths in a participating group or unit — usually used of a military or naval operation
one-way suicide bombing missions
supposed to make any attempt at invasion a suicide attack — Coast Artillery Journal
b. : engaging in or intended to engage in such an operation
suicide pilot
a suicide squad
leaving a suicide force … to fight a rearguard action — F.B.Gipson