Werther effect

noun

The situation where a widely publicized suicide leads to a number of copycat suicides.

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Meanings

nounWerther effect (plural Werther effects)

plural Werther effects

  1. The situation where a widely publicized suicide leads to a number of copycat suicides.

Origin

In reference to The Sorrows of Young Werther.

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Cite this entry
APA

Werther effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Werther%20effect

MLA

“Werther effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Werther%20effect. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Werther effect,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Werther%20effect.

Source: Werther effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.