Meanings
- uncountableThe premature death of a vulnerable human due to a failure to provide appropriate help in the context of social injustice.
This paper aims to reflect on human dignity and misthanasia in the public health system in Brazil.
2017 October, Anna Silvia Setti Da Rocha, “Human Dignity, Misthanasia, Public Health and Bioethics in Brazil”, in Revista Iberoamericana de Bioética, →ISSN2 more examples
Orthotanasia refers to the art of promoting a humane and correct death, not subjecting patients to misthanasia or dysthanasia and not abbreviating death either, that is, subjecting them to euthanasia.
2009 September/October, Chaiane Amorim Biondo, Maria Júlia Paes da Silva, Lígia Maria Dal Secco, “Dysthanasia, Euthanasia, Orthotanasia: The Perceptions of Nurses Working in Intensive Care Units and Care Implications”, in Rev Latino-am Enfermagem, volume 17, number 5In these scenarios a debate on the difficult task of maintaining a balance between disthanasia, (therapeutic obstinacy), misthanasia (patient abandonment) and medical futility was seen (9-12)
2010, José Ramírez Rivera, Carlos Cánova Díaz, Robert Hunter Mellado, “Knowledge and implementation of the DNR in internal medicine teaching programs”, in Puerto Rico health sciences, volume 29, number 2
Origin
- Ancient Greekθάνατος“death”
- Englishmisthanasia
A neologism coined by Brazilian bioethicists, from mis- (“badly, wrongly”) + -thanasia (as in euthanasia, dysthanasia), from Ancient Greek θάνατος (thánatos, “death”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
misthanasia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misthanasia
“misthanasia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misthanasia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “misthanasia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/misthanasia.
Source: misthanasia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.