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In 1274 and 1281 Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor of China, sent out great fleets to conquer Japan. Providential storms dispersed the fleets on both occasions and reinforced the Japanese belief that their gods would forever protect them. To the Japanese this salvation was kamikaze, “divine wind.” In World War II Japanese pilots who were willing to give up their lives to help save their country by destroying American ships were the members of a special corps named kamikaze after the storm that had saved Japan seven centuries earlier.
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Examples of kamikaze in a Sentence
David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
In either case, the Clipper will end its voyage with a kamikaze descent to Jupiter's moon Ganymede to prevent any chance of a future uncontrolled crash on Europa that might bring earthly microbes to the moon and its possibly habitable sub-surface environment.
—William Harwood, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2024
Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 11 Nov. 2022
Models such as the Iranian Shahed-136, which Russia bought by the planeload, are capable of one-way, kamikaze-style attacks.
—Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 13 Oct. 2022
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“Kamikaze.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kamikaze. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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