Suicidal Meaning
/ˌsuː.ɪˈsaɪ.dəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjPertaining to suicide.
adjOf a person, likely to commit, or to attempt to commit, suicide.
Sentence Examples
My friend says that she's suicidal.
She's having suicidal thoughts.
Tom never told me he was having suicidal thoughts.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient's ____ thoughts worried the doctor and required immediate help.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is important to seek immediate professional help if anyone is feeling ____ or very hopelss today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree English suicide Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English suicidal From suicide + -al.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The campaign aimed to give commuters the confidence to trust their own instincts and intervene if they spot someone vulnerable who may be at risk of suicide, and to talk to them to interrupt their suicidal thoughts."
— 2020 July 1, Ruth Sutherland, Neil Peters, “Answering the call”, in Rail, page 47:
"Seven people were killed and 66 injured after a High Speed Train slammed into a stationary vehicle that had been parked across the main line by a suicidal driver."
— 2021 February 24, Paul Stephen, “Level crossings are one of our key risk areas”, in RAIL, number 925, page 46:
"It makes me feel better that I’m not the only one who fantasizes about being struck down by a meteor on my way to work. Mind you, I’m not actively suicidal at all. I just kinda think being dead without actually killing myself would be easier and way less exhausting.”"
— 2023 December 2, Tim Graham, “American Psychological Association Announces “Feeling Like Dying But Not Really Suicidal” New Baseline For Normal Mental Health”, in The Hard Times, archived from the original on 02 Aug 2025:
"Now, that, admittedly, did do an awful lot more damage (the 5th and 6th were almost completely wiped out), but the High Seas Fleet was, in turn, almost completely wiped out (in fact, basically was wiped out, to a man) by the oncoming rest of the British Grand Fleet, and it was decided by everybody that this kind of, like, suicidal, completely suicidal, charge was probably a bit out of character for Hipper, and so we didn't take that particular one into account."
— 2018 October 17, Drachinifel, 33:41 from the start, in Last Ride of the High Seas Fleet - Battle of Texel 1918, archived from the original on 04 Aug 2022:
"“We’ve got civilizational suicidal empathy going on,” Musk said, borrowing the term from Gad Saad, a Canadian scholar who is also a frequent Rogan host."
— 2025 March 5, Zachary B. Wolf, “Elon Musk wants to save Western civilization from empathy”, in CNN, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2025:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The patient's ____ thoughts worried the doctor and required immediate help.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is important to seek immediate professional help if anyone is feeling ____ or very hopelss today.