Meanings
present singular third person apostatizes · participle present apostatizing · participle past apostatized · past apostatized · alternative apostatise
- To give up or renounce one's position or belief.
Soft enticements of domestic life too often draw him from the ascetic trail; a monk who apostatizes to the world at times.
1857, Herman Melville, chapter XXVI, in The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade1 more example
Q. 15. May not a church so far apostatize by the neglect of discipline, as to cease to be a church of Christ, and become a synagogue of Satan? A. Yes. This has sometimes happened.
1849, “Discipline of the Church.”, in A Catechism on the Government and Discipline of the Presbyterian Church (Theology), Presbyterian Board of Publication, →OCLC, page 31Synonyms: commit apostasy, apostasize
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo give up or renounce one's position or belief.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Arabic اِرْتَدَّ
- اِرْتَدَّ (irtadda)give up one's position or belief
Catalan apostatar
- apostatargive up one's position or belief
Czech odpadnout od víry
- odpadnout od vírygive up one's position or belief
Finnish luopua uskosta
- luopua uskostagive up one's position or belief
French apostasier
- apostasiergive up one's position or belief
German abtrünnig sein, vom Glauben abfallen
- abtrünnig seingive up one's position or belief
- vom Glauben abfallengive up one's position or belief
Latin apostatō
- apostatōgive up one's position or belief
Polish odstępować, odstąpić
- odstępowaćgive up one's position or belief
- odstąpićgive up one's position or belief
Portuguese apostatar
- apostatargive up one's position or belief
Spanish apostatar
- apostatargive up one's position or belief
Cite this entry
apostatize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apostatize
“apostatize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apostatize. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “apostatize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/apostatize.
Source: apostatize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.