disfellowship

[ dis-fel-oh-ship ]
/ dɪsˈfɛl oʊˌʃɪp /

noun

(in some Protestant religions) the status of a member who, because of some serious infraction of church policy, has been denied the church's sacraments and any post of responsibility and is officially shunned by other members.

verb (used with object), dis·fel·low·shiped, dis·fel·low·ship·ing or (especially British) dis·fel·low·shipped, dis·fel·low·ship·ping.

to place in the status of disfellowship.

QUIZZES

CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THESE WORDS FROM "LITTLE WOMEN"

"Little Women" may be a classic, but that doesn't mean we all know the meanings of the vocab words from the book. Can you define these words correctly and make Jo proud?
Question 1 of 10
earnest
full seriousness, as of intention or purpose.
a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.
urgent character; imperativeness; insistence; importunateness.
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Origin of disfellowship

First recorded in 1600–10; dis-1 + fellowship

Words nearby disfellowship

diseur, diseuse, disfavor, disfavour, disfeature, disfellowship, disfigure, disfigurement, disfluency, disforest, disfranchise
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for disfellowship

  • Churches did not disfellowship each other over the organ question, but many congregations divided on it.

    An American Religious Movement|Winfred Ernest Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for disfellowship

disfellowship
/ (ˌdɪsˈfɛləʊʃɪp) /

verb -ships, -shipping or -shipped or US -ships, -shiping or -shiped (tr)

to excommunicate
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