defenestration
de·fen·es·tra·tion/diˌfɛnəˈstɹeɪʃən/noun
defenestration is spelled D-E-F-E-N-E-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N: 14 letters and 5 syllables (de·fen·es·tra·tion). It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 113,022nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, defenestration means “The act of throwing something or especially someone out of a window, especially lethally” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of defenestration is defenestrations.
How many letters and syllables are in defenestration?
| Letters | 14: D-E-F-E-N-E-S-T-R-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: de·fen·es·tra·tion |
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 113,022nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is defenestration?
Defenestration appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 113,022nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce defenestration?
- UK /dɪˌfɛnɪˈstɹeɪʃ(ə)n/
- UK /ˌdiː-/
- US /diˌfɛnəˈstɹeɪʃən/
Defenestration has 5 syllables, split de·fen·es·tra·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-defenestration.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-defenestration.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with defenestration?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as defenestration from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of defenestration
- defenestrations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defenestration mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act of throwing something or especially someone out of a window, especially lethally.
- 2
UKThe high-profile removal of a person from an organization.
- 3
UKto eliminate from a contest or sport championship
- 4
The act of removing the Microsoft Windows operating system from a computer in order to install an alternative one.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defenestration in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | défenestration |
| German | Fenstersturz, Defenestration , Entlassung, Absetzung |
| Portuguese | defenestração |
| Spanish | defenestración |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does defenestration come from?
From New Latin defenestratio, from dē (“from; out”) + fenestra (“window”) + -atio (suffix indicating an action or process); compare Middle French défenestrer (modern French défenestrer), défenestration, Italian defenestrazione and German Fenstersturz.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).