ˈdeath-wish
[tr. G. todeswunsch, f. tod death + wunsch wish.]
A conscious or unconscious wish for the death of oneself or another; also fig.
| 1896 L. Housman Green Arras 68 And I, at the death-wish then, Stood looking upon it all. 1913 A. A. Brill tr. Freud's Interpr. of Dreams v. 218 The death-wish towards parents is to be explained by reference to earliest childhood. 1929 P. Mairet Adler's Problems of Neurosis vi. 84 After having triumphed over him and having had the death-wish granted by fate, he remained still unsatisfied. 1937 ‘C. Caudwell’ Illusion & Reality 97 The same secret death-wishes are shown by these aristocrats if they turn revolutionary. 1947 Partisan Rev. XIV. 233 Even in America..the death-wish of the business community appears to go beyond the normal limits of political incompetence and geographical security. 1953 X. Fielding Stronghold 153 A death-wish, a longing to be underground, to be in a tomb, buried. 1958 New Statesman 11 Jan. 29/1 Whatever handicaps Mr. Macmillan labours under as Prime Minister, they do not include the death-wish; he is still jauntily determined to win the next election. |