defenestrate
/dɪˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/
"defenestrate" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“defenestrate” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To eject or throw (someone or something) from or through a window.
Corpus desk
Index EN-defenestrate · defenestrate · English
defenestrate · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | defenestrate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “defenestrate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
defenestrate is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /dɪˈfɛnɪstɹeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for defenestrate, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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”). The correct English form is defenestrate, spelled D-E-F-E-N-E-S-T-R-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To eject or throw (someone or something) from or through a window.
- 2To throw out; to remove or dismiss (someone) from a position of power or authority.
- 3To remove a Windows operating system from (a computer).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how defenestrate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
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).
Etymology
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”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.