unchurch
/'ʌn'tʃə:tʃ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb: 1. To exclude from a church or a religious community; to excommunicate formally. This action involves officially cutting off an individual or group from the rites, fellowship, and privileges of a church or religious body, typically as a penalty for doctrine or behavior deemed unacceptable.
Usage and Examples
- Verb:
- The council voted to unchurch the heretical sect, declaring its teachings incompatible with the faith.
- Historically, powerful bishops could unchurch rulers, denying them the sacraments and the church's protection.
Advanced Usage
- The term often implies a formal, authoritative decree from a church's governing body. It is a stronger, more institutional action than simple shunning or disapproval.
- It can be used in a broader, metaphorical sense to describe the act of ostracizing someone from any strongly held belief system or community.
- The hardliners sought to unchurch any party member who advocated for reform.
Variants and Related Words
- Excommunicate (verb): A more common synonym with the same core meaning of formal exclusion from a religious community.
- Unchurched (adjective): Describes people who are not members of or do not attend a church. This is a related but distinct term focusing on status rather than the act of expulsion.
- The missionary's goal was to reach the unchurched population.
Synonyms
- Excommunicate
- Cast out
- Expel
- Anathematize (specifically involving a formal curse)
Antonyms
- Welcome
- Admit
- Receive into fellowship
- Communion
Notes on Meaning
- The primary and almost exclusive meaning of "unchurch" is the formal act of excommunication. It is a rare and somewhat archaic verb in modern usage, primarily found in historical or theological contexts.
- It should not be confused with the adjective "unchurched," which describes a lack of church affiliation without implying a punitive expulsion.
Verb
- exclude from a church or a religious community
- The gay priest was excommunicated when he married his partner