Definition

1. Verb:
   • To remove from priestly office; to defrock: The action of formally stripping a member of the clergy of their ecclesiastical status, authority, and the right to perform religious functions. This is a disciplinary action, often as a result of serious misconduct.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:
  • The bishop had no choice but to unfrock the priest after the scandal was proven.
  • The church tribunal voted to unfrock him for his heretical teachings.

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in a formal, religious, or historical context concerning the clergy.
• It implies an official, institutional act of removal, not a voluntary resignation.
• "to be unfrocked": The common passive construction describing the state of having been removed from office.
  • After the trial, he was unfrocked and could no longer serve as a minister.

Variants and Related Words

• Defrock (verb): A direct synonym with identical meaning and usage.
  • The terms 'unfrock' and 'defrock' are often used interchangeably.
• Unfrocking (noun): The act or process of removing a cleric from office.
  • The unfrocking of the archbishop was a major event in the church's history.

Synonyms

• Defrock: To deprive (a cleric) of ecclesiastical status.
• Disrobe (in a specific, formal sense): To strip of official vestments or authority.
• Depose: To remove from office or position, especially of high rank.

Antonyms

• Ordain: To confer holy orders upon; appoint to the clergy.
• Frock (as a verb, archaic): To invest with priestly office.

Notes on Meaning

• The core meaning is specific to the religious domain. While it literally means "to divest of the frock" (the clerical garment), its practical meaning is the removal of clerical rights and identity.
• It is a transitive verb and requires an object (the person being unfrocked).

Verb

1. divest of the frock; of church officials