を絶った

cut off; ended

→ を

phrase Rare #39,003

cut off; ended The meaning depends on the noun before を. 命を絶った means “took their own life,” while 消息を絶った means “disappeared” or “was lost without a trace.”

JA: 彼は突然、消息を絶った。

EN: He suddenly disappeared without a trace.

彼の歴史を見たら母親は自身で命を絶った

When I looked into his history, I learned that his mother had taken her own life.

— ピエロがお前を嘲笑う (2014)

最後の電話で感じたのなのに突然消息を絶ったという事は―何かされたのよ

I had a feeling during our last phone call, and then they suddenly disappeared—something must have happened to them.

— サイコ (1960)

彼女は自らの命を絶った。

She took her own life.

新聞に飛行機が消息を絶ったと書いてあった。

The newspaper said that an airplane had disappeared.