How to Use defrock in a Sentence

defrock

verb
  • The priest who married them was really defrocked.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026
  • The priest eventually was defrocked and died in prison while serving a sentence for abuse in Texas.
    — J.m. Lawrence, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2018
  • The next year, the church defrocked Father Geoghan and removed him from the priesthood.
    — New York Times, 3 June 2019
  • He was defrocked and died in the Vatican before facing justice.
    — Jason Horowitz, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2017
  • Kiesle was finally defrocked in 1987.
    — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2026
  • In this legal system, the worst punishment a priest can incur is being defrocked or dismissed from the clerical state.
    — Fox News, 18 Dec. 2019
  • The monks have been defrocked and charged with offenses related to embezzlement, fraud and robbery.
    — George Styllis, Washington Post, 24 June 2018
  • In this legal system, the worst punishment a priest can incur is being defrocked, or dismissed from the clerical state.
    — NBC News, 17 Dec. 2019
  • Brennan, 80, was removed from active ministry soon after the report was released and defrocked last year.
    — Craig R. McCoy, Philly.com, 25 June 2018
  • Now that his criminal trial is over Capella will be subject to a canonical hearing, which could lead to him being defrocked.
    — Deutsche Welle, USA TODAY, 23 June 2018
  • While hundreds of priests have been defrocked over the years for raping and molesting minors, only a few bishops have faced sanctions for failing to prevent such crimes.
    — Nicole Winfield, The Seattle Times, 8 Oct. 2018
  • In the end, mostly because of his negative stance on the papacy, Savonarola was defrocked and executed by the church.
    — Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 7 Feb. 2017
  • One prominent cleric, who has denied abuse allegations, was among those defrocked by Pope Francis.
    — Ryan Dube, WSJ, 19 Oct. 2018
  • Robben eventually was defrocked from the Christian order, and apparently then started his own.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 5 Oct. 2019
  • Robben eventually was defrocked from the Christian order, and apparently then started his own.
    — NBC News, 4 Oct. 2019
  • Concerned Catholics has been calling for Apuron's permanent removal as Guam archbishop and is hoping he will be defrocked.
    — Haidee V Eugenio, USA TODAY, 24 Sep. 2017
  • After he was defrocked, Wesolowski lost his diplomatic immunity and the Vatican said he could be tried by other courts.
    — Bloomberg.com, 15 Sep. 2017
  • Now that the criminal prosecution is over, Capella will be subject to a canonical trial, which could result in him being defrocked.
    — Washington Post, 23 June 2018
  • Among the men Feit helped keep in ministry was child molester James Porter, who assaulted more than 100 victims before he was defrocked and sent to prison.
    — Associated Press, Houston Chronicle, 8 Dec. 2017
  • Now that the criminal prosecution is over, Capella will be subject to a separate canonical trial, which could result in him being defrocked.
    — Nicole Winfield, BostonGlobe.com, 23 June 2018
  • Bishop Daily was named as a defendant in dozens of suits filed by people who claimed that Father Geoghan, who was later defrocked, had molested them in his three decades as a priest.
    — Sam Roberts, New York Times, 15 May 2017
  • After the charter was established in 2002, some critics say dioceses were more likely to simply defrock priests and return them to private citizenship.
    — Claudia Lauer and Meghan Hoyer, chicagotribune.com, 5 Oct. 2019
  • The naked and unseemly lust for the wrong kind of money led it here, into the middle of an FBI investigation, with several coaches under arrest and one legend defrocked and more of both, so much more, to come.
    — Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, 28 Sep. 2017
  • While a review board deemed the abuse credible, the Vatican -- at the urging of then-Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin -- let Allard retire rather than be defrocked.
    — Arkansas Online, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Late last month, the pope defrocked Fernando Karadima, an influential priest in Santiago who was accused in 2010 of having molested minors in his parish.
    — Ryan Dube, WSJ, 13 Oct. 2018
  • This week, attorney Jerry Coughlan, who is representing the congregation in the misconduct proceedings, called for Bruno to be defrocked and that a forensic audit be conducted of the bishop’s books.
    — Hillary Davis, Daily Pilot, 29 June 2017
  • Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA defrocked Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio in an effort to end a bruising period of leadership turmoil.
    — Sonia Sirletti, Bloomberg, 25 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defrock.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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