defenestration

American  

[dee-fen-uh-strey-shuhn] / diˌfɛn əˈstreɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of throwing a person or thing out of a window.

   The defenestration of the Catholic commissioners in Prague precipitated the Thirty Years’ War.

2. the act of suddenly removing someone from an important position or office.

   When the new corporate board was voted in, there was a massive defenestration of high-level executives.

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defenestration British  

/ diːˌfɛnɪˈstreɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of throwing someone out of a window

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Etymology

Origin of defenestration

First recorded in 1610–20; de- + Latin fenestr(a) “window” + -ation

Explanation

Defenestration is a word for the act of throwing something or someone out of a window. Yes, there's actually a word for that. Fenestra is the Latin word for window. So that's how we came up with defenestration, the frighteningly specific word for throwing someone out a window. Perhaps you've heard of the famous Defenestration of Prague, which helped launch the 30 Years' War? If not, don't worry. This isn't a word you'll need to use very often, unless there are a lot of people and things being tossed out of the windows in your life.

Example Sentences

However, several analysts have noted there isn’t a clear front-runner to succeed Starmer at this stage, and any defenestration could still take months to materialize.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

And there has been all sorts of faux urgency about the need to elect a speaker so the House — leaderless since McCarthy’s defenestration — can get back to business.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 17, 2023

You may have thought, given the voluminous coverage of this case, that Tessier-Lavigne’s defenestration demonstrates such failures are highly unusual and typically lead to significant sanctions.

From Scientific American • Aug. 1, 2023

“There’s perhaps a feeling of guilt about the defenestration of Boris Johnson which, in some ways, she helps to assuage,” Professor Bale said.

From New York Times • Aug. 11, 2022

Rachel is clearly the one with locks on every possible route to defenestration.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver