apostasy

[uh-pos-tuh-see]

noun, plural a·pos·ta·sies.

a total desertion of or departure from one's religion, principles, party, cause, etc.

Origin of apostasy

1350–1400; Middle English apostasye (< Anglo-French) < Late Latin apostasia < Greek: a standing away, withdrawing, equivalent to apóstas(is) (apo- apo- + sta- stand + -sis -sis) + -ia -ia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for apostasy

Contemporary Examples

Have a look at this telling research from Pew on blasphemy and apostasy laws around the world.
In Defense of Blasphemy
Michael Tomasky
January 9, 2015
Khartoum says Meriam Ibrahim, a Christian, must hang for “apostasy.”
Obama Adds Insult to Injury for Sharia-Condemned Young Mother in Sudan
Nina Shea
June 4, 2014
No one is known to have been executed for apostasy in Sudan since 1991, when it was made a capital crime.
In Sudan a Pregnant Woman May Be Hanged for Marrying a Christian
Nina Shea
May 17, 2014
It's for the crime of apostasy (in this case, writing a novel) that Ayatollah Khomenei sent death squads for Salman Rushdie.
Don't Let the Maccabees Win
Matt Lerner
December 4, 2013
For another year I fought the dread of my apostasy being discovered.
A Brigham Young University Professor’s Escape from Mormonism
Lynn K. Wilder
October 20, 2013

Historical Examples

Also that hankering after an overt or practical effect seems to me an apostasy.
Essays, Second Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson
And he averted his head from her, as though from a temptation to apostasy.
Sacrifice
Stephen French Whitman
Their commander purchased his life by apostasy and a treasonable oath.
Peter the Hermit
Daniel A. Goodsell
Just then it was, if we mistake not, that their apostasy began.
A History of American Christianity
Leonard Woolsey Bacon
So Peter tells us that the alternative is growth or apostasy.
Expositions of Holy Scripture
Alexander Maclaren

British Dictionary definitions for apostasy

apostasy

noun plural -sies

abandonment of one's religious faith, party, a cause, etc

Word Origin

C14: from Church Latin apostasia, from Greek apostasis desertion, from apostanai to stand apart from, desert

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for apostasy

n.

late 14c., "renunciation, abandonment or neglect of established religion," from Latin apostasia, from later Greek apostasia, from apostasis "revolt, defection," literally "a standing off" (see apostate). General (non-religious) sense is attested from 1570s.

apostasy

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}apostasy

Examples from the Web for apostasy

Contemporary Examples

Have a look at this telling research from Pew on blasphemy and apostasy laws around the world.

Khartoum says Meriam Ibrahim, a Christian, must hang for “apostasy.”

No one is known to have been executed for apostasy in Sudan since 1991, when it was made a capital crime.

It's for the crime of apostasy (in this case, writing a novel) that Ayatollah Khomenei sent death squads for Salman Rushdie.

For another year I fought the dread of my apostasy being discovered.

Historical Examples

Also that hankering after an overt or practical effect seems to me an apostasy.

And he averted his head from her, as though from a temptation to apostasy.

Their commander purchased his life by apostasy and a treasonable oath.

Just then it was, if we mistake not, that their apostasy began.

So Peter tells us that the alternative is growth or apostasy.

apostasy

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for apostasy

n.

Origin of apostasy