-
- To save this word, you'll need to log in.
assisted suicide
noun
: suicide committed by someone with assistance from another person
especially
: physician-assisted suicide
Examples of assisted suicide in a Sentence
a doctor who has been involved in several assisted suicides
an opponent of assisted suicide
Recent Examples on the Web
Others express moral opposition to assisted suicide and say there are no safeguards to protect vulnerable patients from coercion.
—CBS News, 4 Jan. 2024
Ten states allow medically assisted suicide but before Vermont changed its law only one state - Oregon - allowed non-residents to do it, by not enforcing the residency requirement as part of a court settlement.
—CBS News, 4 Jan. 2024
The agency responsible for monitoring assisted suicides in Quebec issued a similar reminder over the summer.
—Alexander Raikin, National Review, 14 Sep. 2023
Fact check: Medically assisted suicide is available for adults in Canada, not children
The People’s Voice article also references the New York Post’s coverage of the same study, but the Post does not make any connection between legal euthanasia and climate change.
—Isabella Fertel, USA TODAY, 6 July 2023
Critics of such laws say without the residency requirements states risk becoming assisted suicide tourism destinations.
—Lisa Rathke, BostonGlobe.com, 2 May 2023
Plumer has overseen 80 assisted suicide deaths since 2020.
—Jonel Aleccia, Anchorage Daily News, 23 Apr. 2023
Many patients who seek medical aid in dying feel deeply offended when the medical practice is referred to as suicide or assisted suicide.
—Ginger Fairchild, CNN, 3 Sep. 2022
Maine Governor Janet Mills signed legislation that legalized medically assisted suicide; Maine became the eighth state to allow terminally ill people to end their lives with prescribed medication.
—BostonGlobe.com, 12 June 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'assisted suicide.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1884, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near assisted suicide
Cite this Entry
“Assisted suicide.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assisted%20suicide. Accessed 10 Jun. 2024.
Medical Definition
assisted suicide
noun
variants
also assisted death
: the act of suicide carried out by someone with assistance from another person
Surveys also show assisted suicides are taking place covertly, often without a doctor's help.—Mark O'Keefe, The Sunday Oregonian (Portland, Oregon)
especially
: physician-assisted suicide
Six of the 15 patients who chose assisted suicide in the act's first year had to ask more than one doctor before finding a physician who would write a lethal prescription. —Barry Siegel, The Los Angeles Times
Legal Definition
assisted suicide
noun
: suicide committed by someone with assistance from another person
especially
: physician-assisted suicide
More from Merriam-Webster on assisted suicide
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share