disestablish

D2I1S1E1S1T1A1B3L1I1S1H4
UK/dɪsɪˈstæblɪʃ/

verb

To deprive (an established church, military squadron, operations base, etc.) of its official status.

Scrabble 18

Meanings

verbdisestablish (third-person singular simple present disestablishes, present participle disestablishing, simple past and past participle disestablished)

present singular third person disestablishes · participle present disestablishing · participle past disestablished · past disestablished

  1. To deprive (an established church, military squadron, operations base, etc.) of its official status.

    Furthermore, disestablishing the Catholic church in February 1795 essentially instituted a free field in religious belief.

    2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 556
    1 more example

    Ah, but the virtue of public education, it is said, is that it is secular and non-denominational. Don't count on it. Massachusetts, the last state to disestablish religion (1832), didn't until July of 1978 decide that it was unconstitutional for the public school system to subsidize religious schools through so-called textbook loans.

    1978 December 9, Mitzel, “Post-Briggs Blues”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 5
  2. To abolish (an existing position of employment).

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  2. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
  3. Proto-Indo-European*d(w)is-
  4. Proto-Italic*dis-
  5. Latindis-
  6. Old Frenchdes-
  7. Latindis-
  8. Middle Englishdis-
  9. Englishdis-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*sth₂éh₁yeti
  12. Proto-Italic*staējō
  13. Proto-Italic*staēō
  14. Proto-Italic*staðlis?
  15. Latinstabilis
  16. Latinstabilīre
  17. Old Frenchestablir
  18. Middle Englishestablissen
  19. Englishestablish
  20. Englishdisestablish

From dis- + establish.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Italian destabilizzare, rovesciare
  • destabilizzareTo make stable or firm; to confirm
  • rovesciareTo make stable or firm; to confirm
  • abbattereTo make stable or firm; to confirm
  • disfareTo make stable or firm; to confirm
Cite this entry
APA

disestablish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disestablish

MLA

“disestablish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disestablish. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “disestablish,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disestablish.

Source: disestablish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.