dis·es·tab·lish
ˌdis-ə-ˈstab-lish 
disestablished; disestablishing; disestablishes
: to deprive of an established status
especially
: to deprive of the status and privileges of an established church
: the act or process of disestablishing or the state of being disestablished
specifically
: the act of a state in sundering the relationships between it and its established church
Examples of disestablish in a Sentence
Verb
efforts to disestablish the Church of England
Recent Examples on the Web
Michael Saunders,
FOXNews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
As part of the change to the Globes as a for-profit entity, the HFPA was disestablished but its members were given a financial offer to remain as voters for the new Globes operation.
—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
17 July 2025
The court determined that tribal nations still have sovereignty over historic reservations if they were never formally disestablished by Congress.
—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2024
But the assertion that bigger brains make for a smarter species may have been disestablished now that scientists have made a harrowing journey into the Rising Star cave and discovered that the species -- which lived about 335,000 to 236,000 years ago -- buried its dead and marked the graves.
—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
5 June 2023
Massachusetts was the last to disestablish in 1833.
—
Samuel Goldman,
The Week,
16 Feb. 2022
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in Oklahoma are seeing massive increases in caseloads as the result of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that determined a large swath of eastern Oklahoma remains an Indian reservation because Congress never voted to disestablish it.
—
Alanna Durkin Richer,
Star Tribune,
18 Mar. 2021
During that period of land theft, though, Congress never took the time to disestablish the Creek reservation.
—
Nick Martin,
The New Republic,
9 July 2020
When the first case was heard, the justices reached back to 1907 to determine whether Congress, using imprecise language, failed to disestablish the 1866 boundaries of the Indian reservation.
—
Richard Wolf,
USA TODAY,
13 Dec. 2019
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Verb
Aiming to disestablish the Church of England could be seen as an attempt to reject that ethical foundation without being clear what would replace it instead.
—
Michael Saunders,
FOXNews.com,
5 Apr. 2026
As part of the change to the Globes as a for-profit entity, the HFPA was disestablished but its members were given a financial offer to remain as voters for the new Globes operation.
—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
17 July 2025
The court determined that tribal nations still have sovereignty over historic reservations if they were never formally disestablished by Congress.
—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
6 May 2024
But the assertion that bigger brains make for a smarter species may have been disestablished now that scientists have made a harrowing journey into the Rising Star cave and discovered that the species -- which lived about 335,000 to 236,000 years ago -- buried its dead and marked the graves.
—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
5 June 2023
Massachusetts was the last to disestablish in 1833.
—
Samuel Goldman,
The Week,
16 Feb. 2022
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors in Oklahoma are seeing massive increases in caseloads as the result of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that determined a large swath of eastern Oklahoma remains an Indian reservation because Congress never voted to disestablish it.
—
Alanna Durkin Richer,
Star Tribune,
18 Mar. 2021
During that period of land theft, though, Congress never took the time to disestablish the Creek reservation.
—
Nick Martin,
The New Republic,
9 July 2020
When the first case was heard, the justices reached back to 1907 to determine whether Congress, using imprecise language, failed to disestablish the 1866 boundaries of the Indian reservation.
—
Richard Wolf,
USA TODAY,
13 Dec. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Disestablish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disestablish. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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