preparedness for death; do-or-die spirit
Describes a resolute, desperate determination where one is ready to risk death. Often used in fixed expressions like 決死の覚悟 or 決死隊.
He went to the rescue with a do-or-die determination.
決死隊が敵陣に突入した。
The suicide squad charged into the enemy camp.
suicidal action; death-defying act; action taken with readiness to die
suicide squad; suicide corps
Compound of 決 (decide, resolve) and 死 (death), literally meaning 'resolved to die'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has been used in Japanese to express a determined readiness to face death since at least the early modern period.