əˈpästəsē, -si also -ȯs- noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English apostasie, from Late Latin apostasia, from Greek, literally, revolt, defection, from aphistanai to remove, cause to revolt, from apo- + histanai to cause to stand — more at stand
1. : the renunciation of a religious faith
2. : an abandonment of what one has voluntarily professed : a total desertion or departure (as from one's principles or party)
apostasies of disciples who refused to accept Freud's theories — Time