suicidal ideation

noun

: the act of thinking about or a state of preoccupation with ending one's own life : the act of considering or planning suicide

He had been hospitalized several times for depression and suicidal ideation: the previous summer he had checked himself into a hospital in Laramie.

—Melanie Thernstrom

Alleviating gender dysphoria and aligning gender expression with identity through these treatments can lower stress, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and significantly lessen suicidal ideation.

—Orion Rummler

Examples of suicidal ideation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Experts say this contributes significantly to anxiety, depression, substance abuse and — in some extreme cases — suicidal ideation. —Lisa Belzberg, New York Daily News, 25 Mar. 2025

Markle was so horrifically treated by the press, the public, and reportedly the royal family that the experience very directly drove her to suicidal ideation. —Alanna Bennett, refinery29.com, 14 Mar. 2025

The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry has said that evidence shows conversion therapies inflict harm on young people, including elevated rates of suicidal ideation. —Geoff Mulvihill, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2025

Things in Nature Merely Grow paints a loving portrait of each of her teenage children, who died nearly seven years apart, and details her own battles with depression and suicidal ideation. —Shannon Carlin, Time, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for suicidal ideation

• acclimatisation
• acclimatization
• acidification
• actualization
• annualization
• autocorrelation
• autoregulation
• beatification
• beneficiation
• biodegradation
• biotransformation
• bureaucratization

Medical Definition

suicidal ideation

noun

: the act of thinking about or a state of preoccupation with ending one's own life : the act of considering or planning suicide

Depression appears to be one of the strongest predictors of suicidal ideation but does not appear to distinguish those who have attempted suicide from those who have experienced suicidal ideation without attempts.

—E. David Klonsky et al., Annual Review of Clinical Psychology

Burnout among medical students seems to be an important predictor of subsequent suicidal ideation even without symptoms of depression.

—Liselotte N. Dyrbye et al., Annals of Internal Medicine