disbar
/dis'bɑ:/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To expel a lawyer from the legal profession, officially revoking their license to practice law, typically as a disciplinary action for unethical or illegal conduct.
Usage and Examples
- Verb:
- The state bar association voted to disbar the attorney for misappropriating client funds.
- If a lawyer commits perjury, they risk being disbarred.
- After the investigation, the disciplinary committee decided to disbar him permanently.
Advanced Usage
- "to be disbarred from": To be officially expelled from the practice of law in a specific jurisdiction.
- She was disbarred from practicing in New York after her conviction.
- The term is almost exclusively used in a legal and professional disciplinary context. The action is formal and carried out by an official body like a bar association or a court.
Variants and Related Words
- Disbarment (n): The act of disbarring or the state of having been disbarred.
- The disbarment of the famous lawyer was front-page news.
Synonyms
- Expel (from the bar)
- Strike off (the roll of lawyers) - Common in British English.
- Defrock - Used informally by analogy to clergy, though "disbar" is the precise legal term.
Antonyms
- Admit to the bar: To grant a lawyer a license to practice.
- Reinstate: To restore a disbarred lawyer to good standing (possible in some cases after a period).
Notes on Meaning
- Disbar refers specifically to lawyers. The analogous action for other professions uses different verbs (e.g., a doctor is "struck off" the medical register or has their license "revoked").
- It implies a permanent or long-term removal, though reinstatement is sometimes possible after many years under strict conditions.
Verb
- remove from the bar; expel from the practice of law by official action
- The corrupt lawyer was disbarred