Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

defenestrate

/dəˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.04 in modern English

Syllables: de-fen-es-trate
IPA: /dəˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/

16

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To eject or throw (someone or something) from or through a window.

Transitive verb

verb

To throw out; to remove or dismiss (someone) from a position of power or authority.

Transitive verb

verb

To remove a Windows operating system from (a computer).

Humorous; Slang; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"I defenestrated a clock to see if time flies!"
"The cultural historians of science 'feel the need to defenestrate science, or at least take it off its pedestal' (Pumfrey. Rossi & Slawinski 1991. p. 3)."
"Ever since he helped to defenestrate Richard Nixon in 1974, Mr Woodward has been a sort of super-reporter ..."
"According to the guidebooks, they do it so strenuously that women would very much like to defenestrate the custom."
"This posting was written on a Windows 95 PC, Defenestrate it immediately. Install Linux. :-)"
"◦ Enable one-click uninstalls of unwanted OS and application features with a Defenestrate icon."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h₁ Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Etruscan *𐌚𐌍𐌄𐌔𐌕𐌓𐌀 (*fnestra)bor.? Latin fenestra Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiō New Latin dēfenestrātiōder. English defenestrationbf. English defenestrate First attested in 1904; back-formation from defenestration on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from New Latin dē- (“out”) + fenestra (“window”) + -ātiō (“-ation”).

Origin

First known use: First attested in 1904

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /dəˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/
British English: /dɪˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/

Usage

Inflected Forms

defenestrates (present, singular) defenestrating (participle, present) defenestrated (participle, past) defenestrated (past)

Derived Forms

autodefenestrate defenestration defenestrator

Frequently Paired Words

autodefenestrate

Questions

How do you pronounce defenestrate?: The recorded pronunciation is /dəˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/.
What does defenestrate mean?: To eject or throw (someone or something) from or through a window.
Where does defenestrate come from?: First known use: First attested in 1904.

How to pronounce defenestrate

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dəˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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