kamikaze
kamikaze
Pronunciation
kamikaze
IPA Phonetic Spelling: /ˌkæmɪˈkɑːzi/
Syllable Breakdown:
ka- /kæm/
/k/ - voiceless velar plosive
/æ/ - near-open front unrounded vowel
/m/ - voiced bilabial nasal
-i- /ɪ/
/ɪ/ - near-close near-front unrounded vowel
-ka- /kɑː/
/k/ - voiceless velar plosive
/ɑː/ - open back unrounded vowel
-ze /zi/
/z/ - voiced alveolar fricative
/i/ - close front unrounded vowel
Word Form Variations
Singular noun: kamikaze
Plural noun: kamikazes
Adjective: kamikaze
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
A member of a Japanese air force special attack unit in World War II, trained to fly a plane loaded with explosives on a suicide mission against an enemy target, particularly ships.
Synonyms: suicide pilot, martyr, zealot (in a broad sense)
Antonyms: survivor, pacifist, non-combatant
A person or thing that behaves in a reckless or self-destructive manner, often for a specific purpose or goal.
Synonyms: daredevil, desperado, hothead, madman
Antonyms: cautious person, conservative, pragmatist
Adjective
Relating to or characteristic of a kamikaze attack; reckless, self-destructive, or suicidal.
Example: "He made a kamikaze charge toward the opposing team's goal."
Synonyms: suicidal, reckless, desperate, self-destructive
Antonyms: cautious, careful, prudent, risk-averse
Examples of Use
In Books and Historical Accounts:
Noun (historical): "In the final months of World War II, Japan employed the devastating tactic of the kamikaze, where pilots would intentionally crash their explosive-laden planes into Allied ships." (This is a common historical usage found in countless books and articles about the Pacific War).
Noun (memoir): A quote from a memoir: "We were essentially cajoled into committing suicide," a surviving pilot recalled, speaking of the immense pressure to "volunteer" for a kamikaze mission. (Kazuo Odachi, "Memoirs of a Kamikaze: A World War II Pilot's Inspiring Story of Survival, Honor and Reconciliation," 2021)
Adjective (historical): "The kamikaze attacks at Okinawa inflicted the heaviest losses the U.S. Navy had ever suffered in a single battle." (The National WWII Museum, May 2020)
In Newspapers and Online Publications:
Noun (metaphorical): "The CEO made a kamikaze move, slashing prices to an unsustainable level to try and drive out the competition." (This use is common in business and financial news).
Adjective (metaphorical): "The driver swerved into the lane of oncoming traffic in a kamikaze attempt to pass the car in front of him." (This use appears frequently in articles about reckless behavior, especially in sports or automotive contexts).
Noun (military technology): In a recent article about modern warfare, the term is used to describe a new type of drone: "Two engineering students have built high-speed, radar-evading kamikaze drones and delivered them to Indian Army units." (The Times of India, July 2025)
In Entertainment and Public Discourse:
In Film: The 2013 Japanese film The Eternal Zero and the 2016 American film Hacksaw Ridge both depict kamikaze pilots and their attacks in the context of WWII.
In public discourse: The term is sometimes used to describe a political action seen as self-defeating but done for a specific ideological purpose. For example, a political commentator might say, "The senator's kamikaze amendment was designed to force a vote and expose the divisions within his own party, even though he knew it would never pass."
As a name: The term has been used in popular culture as a name for things that are fast, intense, or dangerous, such as the cocktail "Kamikaze" or the band "Kamikaze" in the film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
10 Famous Quotes Using Kamikaze
"There was a hypnotic fascination to the sight so alien to our Western philosophy. We watched each plunging kamikaze with the detached horror of one witnessing a terrible spectacle rather than as the intended victim." (Vice Admiral C. R. Brown, from The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936–1945 by John Toland)
"Sloth is the failure to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done - like the kamikaze pilot who flew seventeen missions." (John Ortberg)
"Men are bad cyclists, hunters of wild animals, kamikazes, samurai and Christian martyrs." (Christine Grän, Die Hochstaplerin)
"I felt the moment of transition from life to death approaching me minute by minute. My short life of 21 years is going to switch to the world of death tomorrow." (Diary of a kamikaze pilot, from J-Aircraft.com)
"I could go on like this forever, but would I ever find a place that was meant for me? Like, for example, where? After lengthy considerations, the only place I could think of was the cockpit of a two-seater Kamikaze torpedo-plane." (Haruki Murakami, Pinball, 1973)
"Don't launch it," said Bean into his microphone, head down. "Set it off inside your ship. God be with you." (Orson Scott Card, Ender's Shadow)
"I killed a fruit fly that wouldn't get out of my face by clapping my hands on it. In its last act of kamikaze defiance, the fly hurled its fading carcass into a coffee I had only half-drunk and was enjoying." (Stewart Stafford)
"I am merely carrying out my duties as a man. The made-in-Manila bar of toilet soap you'll find in my things was given to me by the chief of staff." (kamikaze pilot to his parents, from a final letter)
"When you hear of my death, be happy for me, for I will have achieved my ambition. Goodbye." (kamikaze pilot to his family, from a final letter)
"And sometimes, she said, he must have wondered which had been the better way to die." (Beatrice Garland, from the poem "Kamikaze")
Etymology
The word "kamikaze" comes from Japanese, and its origin is quite dramatic. It literally translates to "divine wind." The term is made up of two parts:
"kami" (神) which means "god," "divine," or "spirit."
"kaze" (風) which means "wind."
This name has a very specific and ancient historical background. In the 13th century, the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan launched two massive naval invasions against Japan. Both times, his fleets were miraculously destroyed by powerful typhoons, saving the Japanese from conquest. The Japanese people believed these storms were a divine intervention, a "divine wind," sent by the gods to protect their nation.
Fast forward to World War II, when the Japanese military faced overwhelming odds against the Allied forces. They resurrected this historical term to describe their special attack units of pilots who would intentionally crash their planes into enemy ships. These suicide missions were called kamikaze attacks, and the pilots were known as kamikaze pilots, with the name implying that they were a "divine wind" meant to protect Japan once more.
The first known use of the word in this modern context was during World War II, specifically in October 1944, when the first official kamikaze unit was formed under the command of Vice Admiral Takijirō Ōnishi. From there, the term spread globally to describe these suicide pilots and their attacks.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Kamikaze
Kamikaze attack: A reckless, self-destructive action, often used metaphorically outside of a military context.
Kamikaze pilot: A person who behaves in a reckless or self-destructive manner.
Kamikaze mission: A task or endeavor that is extremely risky and likely to result in failure or harm to the person undertaking it.
A kamikaze approach: A strategy or method characterized by an all-or-nothing, highly aggressive, and self-destructive attitude.
Go kamikaze: To act in a reckless, desperate, and self-destructive way.
Kamikaze marketing: An aggressive and risky business strategy, such as slashing prices to an unsustainable level, in an attempt to capture market share.
A kamikaze dive: A sudden and steep descent, often used in a figurative sense for a dramatic drop in something like stock prices or approval ratings.
To pull a kamikaze: To make a sudden, often surprising and destructive, move or decision.
A suicidal charge: An idiom with a similar meaning, referring to a desperate and doomed action.
A daredevil stunt: An idiom with a similar meaning, referring to a reckless and risky act.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of kamikaze from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
