defenestration

noun

de·​fen·​es·​tra·​tion (ˌ)dē-ˌfe-nə-ˈstrā-shən 

1

: a throwing of a person or thing out of a window

assassination by defenestration

2

: a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office)

the defenestration of political leaders

the mass defenestration of middle management

—Jane Bryant Quinn

defenestrate

(ˌ)dē-ˈfe-nə-ˌstrāt 

transitive verb

Did you know?

These days defenestration—from the Latin fenestra, meaning "window"—is often used to describe the forceful removal of someone from public office or from some other advantageous position. History's most famous defenestration, however, was one in which the tossing out the window was quite literal. On May 23, 1618, two imperial regents were found guilty of violating certain guarantees of religious freedom and were thrown out the window of Prague Castle. The men survived the 50-foot tumble into the moat, but the incident marked the beginning of the Bohemian resistance to Hapsburg rule that eventually led to the Thirty Years' War and came to be known as the Defenestration of Prague (it was the third such historical defenestration in Prague, but the first known to be referred to as such by English speakers).

Examples of defenestration in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As Devine sees it, Dans’ current defenestration is political, and temporary. —Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 1 Aug. 2024

The party was unified and energized in Milwaukee, while the Democrats have been in the throes of a crisis that seems likely now to result in the defenestration of President Joe Biden. —The Editors, National Review, 19 July 2024

Currently, OpenAI is a nonprofit with a for-profit arm, and the tension inherent in this governance structure was largely responsible for the OpenAI board’s brief defenestration of Altman late last year. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 17 June 2024

Possession and defenestration might be plotlines too far out for Warner Bros. to adapt. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

de- + Latin fenestra window

First Known Use

1619, in the meaning defined at sense 1