disestablish
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deprive of the character of being established; cancel; abolish.
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to withdraw exclusive state recognition or support from (a church).
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disestablish
Explanation
To disestablish something is to take away its official status. If your school’s table tennis team isn’t any good, why not disestablish it and start a new one? To establish something is to found it or to set it up. To disestablish something is to do the opposite. This word is typically used in the context of national churches. When such a church is disestablished, it loses its official status. This word is notable for being part of one of the longest words in the English language: opposition to disestablishment is called antidisestablishmentarianism.
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.
Federal policies at various points in history sought to disestablish reservations and force Native Americans into cities.
From Washington Times • Jan. 6, 2023
Virginia Heffernan talks to Fordham Law professor Jed Shugerman, about the big picture behind Amy Coney Barrett, ways we can disestablish the Senate, and the concept of originalism when interpreting the U.S.
From Slate • Oct. 16, 2020
Influenced by deistic distaste for sectarian disputes, pragmatic politicians would eventually decide that the best solution was to disestablish the churches and cut off public funding in the name of religious freedom.
From Textbooks • Jan. 18, 2018
Government programs, once established, do not tend to disestablish themselves, but the growth and modernization of the federal government was probably inevitable.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 21, 2015
Secularism accordingly seeks to dispel superstition; to spread education; to disestablish religion; to rationalize morality; to promote peace; to dignify labour; to extend material well-being; and to realize the self-government of the people.
From A Grammar of Freethought by Cohen, Chapman
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.
