disdeify

Etymology

From dis- + deify.

Why this word is great

DISDEIFY — [Verb] To divest or deprive of deity or of a deific rank or condition. From dis- (expressing reversal) + deify (to make or treat as a god). Unlike "dethrone" (which focuses on removing from a position of power, not necessarily divine status) or "desacralize" (which removes sacredness broadly), "disdeify" is the precise act of stripping away godhood. It is the chisel breaking the halo from a marble saint, the slow erasure of a pharaoh’s name from temple walls, or the moment a child realizes their hero is only human—a quiet but irrevocable collapse of the divine into the human.

verb

To divest or deprive of deity or of a deific rank or condition.“The Papists portray him as an old Man; and by this means, dis-deifie him.”