What does parasuicide mean?
Parasuicide is a formal or clinical term for an attempt to die by suicide, usually with the implication that the person survived. It can also refer, in older or specialized usage, to a person who has made such an attempt, but the act itself is the dominant modern sense. The word is especially common in medical, psychiatric, and public-health discussions of causes, prevention, treatment, and risk. It is more specific than the broader term "self-harm," which can include many forms of intentional injury that are not suicide attempts, and it should not be confused with "suicide," which refers to the completed act. In sensitive contexts, "suicide attempt" may sound more straightforward and personal, while "parasuicide" can sound more technical or detached. The term "parasuicidal" describes conduct or states involving an attempted suicide.
nounAn act of attempting suicide, especially one that does not result in death. In some contexts, the term can also refer to a person who has attempted suicide.
- The act of attempting suicide, especially without death resulting.
- A person who has attempted suicide.
"The hospital has a specialist team experienced in treating people who have engaged in parasuicide."
"After a parasuicide attempt, she was admitted to a psychiatric unit for observation."
"The report examined common methods of parasuicide among adolescents."
Used for multiple suicide attempts or, less commonly, for people who have attempted suicide.
"The study reviewed parasuicides treated at the clinic over a five-year period."
Parasuicide means the attempt rather than the outcome: the word separates a suicide attempt from suicide itself.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does parasuicide come from?
Parasuicide combines the combining form para-, meaning beside or related to, with suicide, the act of taking one's own life. The compound developed in the 19th century in medical and legal writing, where it was used for an attempted suicide. Its formation follows the same Greek and Latin components found in related terms such as suicide and suicidal, while the separate word parasuicidal was later derived from the compound.
Related word forms
How parasuicide is actually used
The term is mainly formal and clinical, especially in medicine, psychiatry, and public-health research. It may sound less direct than "suicide attempt" in some contexts, but it remains sensitive language. The second sense, referring to a person, is less common and is chiefly associated with historical or clinical usage.
Easily confused with parasuicide
Suicide refers to the act of taking one's own life, whereas parasuicide refers to an attempt that does not result in death.
Self-harm includes a wider range of deliberately inflicted injuries or damage, while parasuicide specifically denotes an attempted suicide.