disfellowship means lack of, or exclusion from, fellowship. It carries an Arena rating of 1214, earned across 26 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, disfellowship ranks #1,198 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,900 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #2,903 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #5,338 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
Why “disfellowship” is a great word
The formal act of removing someone from the bonds of companionship and communion within a defined community, or the resultant state of exclusion. From the English prefix dis- (expressing reversal or removal) + fellowship (companionship, communion). First recorded in 1600–10. Unlike 'excommunicate,' which formalizes an ecclesiastical severance from sacraments, or 'ostracize,' which suggests a societal shunning by popular consent, to disfellowship is the colder, administrative machinery of a specific community cutting its ties. It is the turned shoulder in a once-familiar meeting hall, the empty chair at a family table that speaks volumes, and the sudden, tangible silence where there was once the warmth of shared prayer—a meticulous unpicking of the soul from the fabric of belonging, leaving a person defined by the ghost-shaped space they no longer fill.
Etymology
From dis- + fellowship.
noun
- Lack of, or exclusion from, fellowship.
verb
- To subject to disfellowshipment.e.g.“Disfellowshipped persons, shunned by the organisation for their unrepented sins, slipped in at the last and sat by the door, ready to disappear at the end of the closing prayer.” — 2020, Paul Mendez, Rainbow Milk, Dialogue Books (2021), page 62:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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