What does disbarred mean?
Disbarred is the past tense and past participle of disbar and also an adjective describing someone who has been deprived of the right to practise law. The action known as disbarment is a serious disciplinary sanction, commonly imposed after a finding of serious professional misconduct such as fraud, dishonesty, or serious incompetence. A disbarred lawyer is no longer authorised to act as a legal practitioner, although the precise legal consequences and any possibility of later reinstatement depend on the jurisdiction. In ordinary use, the word carries a strongly negative and often final-sounding connotation, although the term is formal and judicial rather than casual. It is most often used in legal reporting, disciplinary decisions, and biographical accounts of lawyers whose careers were ended or severely restricted. The expression “strike from the bar” captures the word’s underlying image: professional standing is represented as membership in a collective “bar,” from which an offending lawyer can be excluded.
Having been deprived of the right to practise law by a disciplinary authority.
"She gave testimony as a disbarred lawyer."
Normally used attributively in phrases such as “disbarred lawyer” or predicatively in legal and biographical contexts.
Removed someone from the legal profession, especially as a disciplinary sanction.
"The court disbarred him for serious professional misconduct."
This is the simple past tense and past participle of disbar and is used chiefly in legal contexts.
Professional misconduct can end a legal career overnight: the lawyer is struck from the bar and can no longer practise law.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does disbarred come from?
Disbarred was formed in the 19th century by combining the prefix dis-, expressing removal or deprivation, with the legal sense of bar. In that sense, bar denotes admission to legal practice or the legal profession as a collective. Bar comes through Old French from Latin barra, meaning a crossbar; related words include barrier, barrister, and barricade.
Related word forms
How disbarred is actually used
This is a formal legal term used especially in professional disciplinary contexts and legal reporting. British English may prefer the expression “struck off the roll” for the corresponding action, although “disbarred” is also understood in British legal usage.
Easily confused with disbarred
Debarred means excluded or prohibited from an activity, office, or right in general, whereas disbarred specifically refers to removal from the legal profession.