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Defenestrate: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Defenestrate verb. To throw someone or something out of a window.
How to say it
dee-FEN-ih-strayt/diːˈfɛnɪstreɪt/
4 syllables, stressed on the second (FEN). Forms: defenestrated, defenestration.
Meanings
- To throw someone or something out of a window.
- To remove someone suddenly from a position of power.
Defenestrate in a sentence
After the third paper jam she threatened to defenestrate the printer.
The board defenestrated its chief executive within a week of the scandal.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- throw out
- eject
- oust
Where defenestrate comes from
From Latin de-, out of, and fenestra, window; first used of the Defenestration of Prague in 1618.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
The board _____ its chief executive within a week of the scandal.
- defenestrate
- exhort
- circumnavigate
Show the answer
defenestrate: The board defenestrated its chief executive within a week of the scandal.