apostasy
noun
\
Definition of apostasy
1 : an act of refusing to continue to follow, obey, or recognize a religious faith
2 : abandonment of a previous loyalty : defection
Examples of apostasy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As our research shows, charges of apostasy are a powerful tool for delineating group membership and assigning rights. — Ian M. Hartshorn And Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Washington Post, "Here’s what happens when diplomats get involved in religious rhetoric," 11 Apr. 2018 More than 40 leading French chefs, winemakers, and cheese ripeners signed an open letter, published on Tuesday in the daily Libération, denouncing this apostasy and calling on President Emmanuel Macron to put a stop to it. — Elian Peltier, New York Times, "Camembert Without Raw Milk? It’s Treason, Connoisseurs Cry," 16 May 2018 Some interpreters of Islamic law and their followers have argued that the punishment for apostasy is death. — Ian M. Hartshorn And Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Washington Post, "Here’s what happens when diplomats get involved in religious rhetoric," 11 Apr. 2018 Accusations of apostasy, called takfir in Arabic, have often preceded violence throughout the Middle East. — Ian M. Hartshorn And Stacey Philbrick Yadav, Washington Post, "Here’s what happens when diplomats get involved in religious rhetoric," 11 Apr. 2018 Come Sunday is not a biographical film about apostasy. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "Come Sunday Is an Uneven Biopic of Faith and Dissent," 12 Apr. 2018 Cohen certainly offers a challenge to the conventional wisdom that HOPE was Miller’s great progressive accomplishment, to be balanced against his later political apostasies. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "No, the HOPE Scholarship Didn’t Kill Great Society Liberalism," 31 Mar. 2018 One, Ashraf Fayadh, a Palestinian poet, curator and artist, was convicted on apostasy charges in 2015 and sentenced by a Saudi court to death by beheading. — Kareem Fahim, Washington Post, "As Saudi Arabia relaxes its controls on culture and entertainment, artists dream — and worry," 10 Jan. 2018 Even though Flake no longer has to worry about appeasing hard-right Arizonans in future primaries, his voting record in no way reflects his Trump apostasy. — Benjamin Hart, Daily Intelligencer, "Jeff Flake to Deliver Another Fiery Anti-Trump Speech From Senate Floor," 15 Jan. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apostasy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on apostasy
What made you want to look up apostasy? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Musical Words Quiz
-
- Which word describes a musical performance marked by the absence of instrumental accompaniment?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Share apostasy
Resources for apostasy