harikari

H4A1R1I1K5A1R1I1

A form of hara-kiri — Ceremonial suicide by disembowelment, as by slicing open the abdomen with a dagger or knife: formerly practised in Japan by the samurai when disgraced or sentenced to death.

Similar
harakirihara-kiriseppuku
OriginJapanese 腹切り →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

nounharikari (uncountable)
  1. alternativeproscribeduncountableAlternative form of hara-kiri.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounritual suicide by self-disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society

Similar
harakirihara-kiriseppuku
Broader
suicideself-destructionself-annihilation
Also see
hara-kiriseppuku

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Japanese腹切り
  2. Englishharikari

Corrupted from Japanese 腹切り (harakiri), literally "belly-cutting".

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

harikari. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harikari

MLA

“harikari.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harikari. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “harikari,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harikari.

Source: harikari on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.