Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Suicide by disembowelment, formerly practised in Japan by daimios and members of the military class when unwilling to survive some personal or family disgrace, or in order to avoid the headsman's sword after having received sentence of death. In the latter case the act was performed in the presence of witnesses, and was accompanied by elaborate formalities. At the moment the suicide ripped open his abdomen with his dirk his head was struck off by the sword of his second, who was usually a kinsman or an intimate friend.
- n. Hence, suicide; self-destruction.
Wiktionary
- n. alternative spelling of hara-kiri.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A ritual form of suicide, by slashing the abdomen, formerly practiced in Japan, and commanded by the government in the cases of disgraced officials; disembowelment; -- also written, but incorrectly,
hari-kari .
WordNet 3.0
- n. ritual suicide by self-disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society
- n. ritual suicide by self-disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society
Examples
“They had a feast and the authority for this is the cook -- I forget his name; it's probably here in a footnote -- and they dressed in their ceremonial robes and they had the word "harakiri" -- it means "stomach cutting" -- and they had the ceremonial knife ...”
“[12] I have here used the expression "harakiri," because so commonly understood among English -- speaking readers.”
“The most famous form of seppuku is also known as "harakiri" … in Japanese, the more formal seppuku is typically used in writing, while harakiri is used in speech.”
“I was a staunch supporter of Obama but now I have to wonder how someone who proclaims that Israel's security is sacrosanct tries to force Israel to commit "harakiri".”
“As it has been said, the Baboon is certainly someone to talk about honor and harakiri; he should have followed his own advice long ago.”
“Somewhat reminiscent of Vernor Vinge's novella "The Cookie Monster", this particularly steamy slice of corporate Gormenghast for the economy-plagued America provides plenty of emotional harakiri and gut-spilling visual thrills ... it crawls around the astonished reader like a misshapen beetle (complete with the grotesque patterns on its carapace and clockwork-sounding clicks).”
“She was acting friendly enough now, chattering away like they were in college, but there she was, on the verge of harakiri with an American.”
“But if Mr. Obama won't go along, there's no reason Republicans should help him dodge the political consequences by committing debt-limit harakiri.”
“So, let's start planning for Panel III in 5-6 years to fix the national space-harakiri we're witnessing. me”
“If I was a samurai in feudal Japan, I would have to harakiri myself out of dishonor and shame.”
The Huffington Post: Wajahat Ali: Fighting Wells Fargo and Foreclosure
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘harakiri’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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• Knuckle tattoos
Our personal suggestions for those who feel the need for knuckle tattoos. For "4+4", see also frogapplause's Candy Hearts.
venomous, unworthy, tucotuco, vrooming, mispelin, i ♥ mozart, tiramisù, fartlets, pindaric, pecorino, the f word, 3.141592 and 104 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
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Nullologue
nullologue, vaudeville, debauchery, debauched, libertine, nothing, dhadak, tz pf, nothingology, goodbyeology, sharmuta, manifesto and 866 more...
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Australian
words not found in other
dictionaries,these are from Macquarie
Dictionary and not playable in
scrabbleabdul, abdulled, abdulling, abi, abiu, ablactate, absinthial, absinthian, absoluter, acalypha, acanthodian, acaroids and 5128 more...
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botello360's list
ruminate, steel, bifurcation, arrivederci, portage, tactile, ruminant, rift, anecdotage, diacritic, cud, hull and 399 more...
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vivek's list
flibbertigibbet, droll, reticence, prelude, erinaceous, brinkmanship, depone, inaniloquent, limerance, pronk, onomatopoeia, oxymoron and 385 more...
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Suicides
teenage, ritual, copycat, forced, mass, cult, internet, assisted, murder-suicide, suicide by cop, suicide attack, attempted and 17 more...
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Japan
Words associated with Japan or japanese.
kanji, kana, hiragana, katakana, harakiri, sudoku, pillow book, heian, lady-in-waiting, sakura, doll festival, nori and 22 more...
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