disfellowship
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
verb
Etymology
Origin of disfellowship
First recorded in 1600–10; dis- 1 + fellowship
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She adds that while not everyone goes through a formal disfellowship when they leave, their relationships seldom go on unaffected.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2017
John says he later discovered his wife had testified against him during the process that led to his disfellowship, which he believes placed a great strain on their relationship.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2017
The outcomes can include probation, disfellowship, excommunication or no action.
From Reuters ● Jun. 30, 2014
Disciplinary hearing outcomes can include probation, disfellowship, excommunication or exoneration.
From Reuters ● Jun. 17, 2014
Both sought the truth with an attempt at unbiassed judgment; and neither wished to disfellowship the other, or to put any restrictions upon its expression of its opinions.
From Unitarianism in America by Cooke, George Willis
When they were disfellowshiped by the Jews, about 460 B.C., they built a temple on Mt.
From A Trip Abroad by Janes, Don Carlos
A judicial committee was called, and she was disfellowshipped and eventually asked to leave her parents’ house.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2018
The night she was disfellowshipped, Sarah says her mother refused to talk to her.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2017
But two years ago, he was disfellowshipped after he missed a Jehovah's Witness memorial service - seen in the religion as an important event.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2017
Gradually Franz began to question other teachings, and now, in a downfall as dramatic as an excommunication within the College of Cardinals, he has been ostracized, or as the Witnesses say, "disfellowshipped."
From Time Magazine Archive
In fact, however, Parker was never disfellowshipped; and from the first many Unitarians regarded Emerson as the teacher of a higher type of spiritual religion.
From Unitarianism in America by Cooke, George Willis
Dissociation, similar to disfellowshipping, now known as removal, is a process whereby followers are expelled from the religion, sometimes losing their family and social structures.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026
However, in his case, it was because a few years ago he was expelled from his religion completely, in a process called disfellowshipping.
From BBC ● May 31, 2025
The group added that the "courts have rejected the allegation that disfellowshipping and so-called shunning results in social isolation and discrimination and it is simply misleading and discriminatory to imply that our religion is controlling".
From BBC ● May 16, 2023
Instead, staff members were allegedly threatened with disfellowshipping to get their testimony about doctrinal discussions with others.
From Time Magazine Archive
Opponents were unable to get a two-thirds majority for his disfellowshipping on the spot, but he was forced to resign from Bethel.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
