defenestration
noun
Jane Bryant Quinn
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, in fact, the third such historical defenestration in Prague, but it was the first to be referred to as such by English speakers.
Examples of defenestration in a Sentence
Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 16 Apr. 2026
Fashion is in a state of emergency: The defenestration of multibrand retail has challenged the landscape of independent brands, and means that, broadly, designers are making less money through traditional means.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 8 Apr. 2026
Fresh off the defenestration of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, Trump also seemed convinced of his singular ability to dictate terms on the world stage.
—Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2026
There may also be a desire among decision makers to be more deliberate in defenestrations than during the MeToo era, when corporate cancellations were swift and arguably, in some cases, rash.
—Claire Zillman, Fortune, 14 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Defenestration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defenestration. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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