as in deposed
to remove from a position of prominence or power (as a throne)
the movie's director was defrocked for going way over budget
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Recent Examples of defrocked
The priest who married them was really defrocked.
—
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA defrocked Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio in an effort to end a bruising period of leadership turmoil.
—Sonia Sirletti, Bloomberg, 25 Mar. 2026
Kiesle was finally defrocked in 1987.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2026
While a review board deemed the abuse credible, the Vatican -- at the urging of then-Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin -- let Allard retire rather than be defrocked.
—Arkansas Online, 24 Feb. 2026
Sara Holdren, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA defrocked Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio in an effort to end a bruising period of leadership turmoil.
—Sonia Sirletti, Bloomberg, 25 Mar. 2026
Kiesle was finally defrocked in 1987.
—Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2026
While a review board deemed the abuse credible, the Vatican -- at the urging of then-Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin -- let Allard retire rather than be defrocked.
—Arkansas Online, 24 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defrocked
Verb
-
The House oversight committee held depositions with former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in late February after Comer deposed the couple.—
Molly Parks,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The committee has deposed numerous people who knew Epstein, including Ohio billionaire Les Wexner, who hired Epstein to manage his finances, and former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.—
Justine McDaniel,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Meanwhile, Andy Sachs (Hathaway) has just been sacked from her respected position as an award-winning reporter at a vital, forward-thinking political news outlet.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
1 May 2026
-
While Troy may well have been sacked in a war, historians are largely unwilling to accept that it was ever destroyed by a crack team of Greek soldiers hidden inside a giant wooden horse.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Red Sox had never fired a manger in-season since John Henry purchased the team in 2002, and throughout the franchise’s existence no manager had ever been dismissed midseason so early in the campaign.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Last year, dozens of experts who provided independent evaluations for biomedical research were dismissed from National Institute of Health science review boards.—
National Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defrocked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defrocked. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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