as in deposing
to remove from a position of prominence or power (as a throne)
the movie's director was defrocked for going way over budget
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrocking
Verb
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The legal teams re-entered the courtroom after deposing the ice agent for a second time.—
Nikiya Carrero,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026 -
At the same time, the president has brought Russia’s Vladimir Putin out of isolation, stunned the world by deposing Venezuela’s leader and made invasion threats toward Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO member Denmark.—
Bloomberg News,
Boston Herald,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Getty Images Tottenham Hotspur are searching for their eighth manager/head coach (interim and permanent) since 2019 after sacking Thomas Frank on Wednesday amid a run of two wins in 17 Premier League games.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
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Seattle swarmed quarterback Drake Maye all game, sacking him six times and forcing three turnovers, leaving New England scoreless through the first three quarters.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The company rejected the measure, dismissing Friedmann as a disgruntled ex-convict, but his campaign got widespread attention.—
James Verini,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
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By dismissing shooters as incomprehensible villains, Peterson says, families and communities may miss warning signs in the young people around them.—
Brit McCandless Farmer,
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Defrocking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrocking. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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