Meanings
present singular third person disestablishes · participle present disestablishing · participle past disestablished · past disestablished
- 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 5561 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
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
- Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
- Proto-Indo-European*d(w)is-
- Proto-Italic*dis-
- Latindis-
- Old Frenchdes-
- Latindis-
- Middle Englishdis-
- Englishdis-
- Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*sth₂éh₁yeti
- Proto-Italic*staējō
- Proto-Italic*staēō
- Proto-Italic*staðlis?
- Latinstabilis
- Latinstabilīre
- Old Frenchestablir
- Middle Englishestablissen
- Englishestablish
- Englishdisestablish
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
disestablish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disestablish
“disestablish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disestablish. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “disestablish,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/disestablish.
Source: disestablish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.