1. to abandon or renounce a religious faith, belief, or cause that one previously held
Usage: often used in religious or ideological contexts

Examples

• He was accused of apostatizing from the church after decades of membership.
• The scholar apostatized from her earlier political beliefs.
• During the persecution, some believers apostatized under pressure.
• She refused to apostatize despite threats and intimidation.
• The movement lost many followers who apostatized in the 1990s.
• He apostatized from his childhood faith as a young adult.