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Glite Dictionary
to end one's life

to end one's life

1 8.7
To kill yourself because you feel you cannot go on
  • phrasal verb
  • NSFW
translation icon : quitarse la vida
  • There are some who feel that once the quality of life is tested, it may be necessary, or at least by choice, to end one's life.

Examples

  • And within hours she'd ended her life.

    Mr. Holmes (2015)

  • Why do you say you want to end your life?

    My Suicide (2009)

  • I cannot believe that you are willing to help our son end his life!

    Me Before You (2016)

  • Wow, what a horrible way to end your life.

    Ageless Love (2022)

  • Now, as for why you wished to end your life in the first place...

    Coup de Cinema (2011)

  • Ending your life is not the answer.

    Logan (2010)

  • Included among these were questions about feeling lonely even when in the presence of others, feeling blue, having a poor appetite, and experiencing thoughts of ending one's life.

    Academic text (2006)

  • If you are feeling overwhelmed, please talk to someone before considering to end your life.

  • The support group aims to help those who have thoughts of ending their lives find hope and healing.

  • It's crucial to reach out for help if you ever think about ending your life, as there are people who care.

Synonyms

to commit suicide
vsto end one's life
  • NSFW
232 6.2

To kill yourself on purpose

is phrased more indirectly and gently
to take one's own life
vsto end one's life
  • NSFW
35 8.6

To end your life on purpose

is more plain and less indirect in tone
to suicide
vsto end one's life
  • NSFW
1 6.5

To end your own life on purpose

is a multiword phrase that sounds less blunt

Antonyms

to live
∞ 1.0

To continue to be alive

to survive
∞ 2.7

Continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult event

Surface Forms

end one's life infinitive
ended one's life past
ended one's life past participle
ending one's life present participle
ends one's life third person singular

Morphology

end + one's + life

The phrase literally composes 'end' (to bring to a conclusion) + 'one's' (possessive) + 'life' (existence), so a learner who knows the parts can infer 'bring one’s life to an end' — i.e., kill oneself/commit suicide. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically, making the meaning predictable rather than idiomatic for B1 learners.

Etymology

The phrase end one's life may come from the simple image of life as a story you can end. Because it sounds gentler, people use it to mean 'to kill oneself'.