LIVING WILL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does living will mean? 

• LIVING WILL (noun)
  The noun LIVING WILL has 1 sense:

1. a document written by someone still legally capable requesting that he should be allowed to die if subsequently severely disabled or suffering terminal illness

  Familiarity information: LIVING WILL used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LIVING WILL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A document written by someone still legally capable requesting that he should be allowed to die if subsequently severely disabled or suffering terminal illness

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

after he discovered he had AIDS he drew up a living will

Hypernyms ("living will" is a kind of...):

instrument; legal document; legal instrument; official document ((law) a document that states some contractual relationship or grants some right)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

 Context examples 

A living will usually has instructions about whether to use aggressive medical treatment to keep a person alive (such as CPR, artificial nutrition, use of a respirator).

(Living will, NCI Dictionary)

A living will tells which treatments you want if you are dying or permanently unconscious.

(Advance Directives, NIH: National Cancer Institute)