death wish

noun

1. desire for one's own death or for the death of another.
2. Psychiatry. a suicidal desire, manifested by passivity, withdrawal, and absorption in nihilistic thoughts, that may eventually lead to suicidal behavior.

death wish

noun

1. (in Freudian psychology) the desire for self-annihilation See also Thanatos

Word History and Origins

Origin of death wish¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

There's racism, right-wing propaganda, a failing information environment, and perhaps an American death wish.

From Salon

Consider what John F. Kennedy had to say, eight months after the Cuban missile crisis, in his historic speech at American University: “Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy, or of a collective death wish for the world.”

From Salon

An attack on him was a "death wish by the attacker" he said, and he thanked Congress for approving more money for the Secret Service.

From BBC

Donald Trump shows signs of harboring a political death wish.

From Los Angeles Times

Retelling his story in a postwar re-education camp — the framing device for the series — the Captain recalls watching the vicious interrogation of a communist agent on the stage of a movie theater, where the marquee sign for “Emmanuelle” is coming down, and the one for Charles Bronson’s “Death Wish” is hoisted into place.

From New York Times