noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˌhæɹəˈkɪɹi/
/ˌhɑɹəˈkɪɹi/
/ˌhæɹiˈkæɹi/widespread but nonstandard
/ˌhɛɹiˈkɛɹi/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:HH AA1 R IH0 K IH1 R IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
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.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Suicide or any suicidal action.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An act against one's own interests.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, figuratively, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
ritual suicide by self-disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
