defunding
Removing financial support
Defunding is the act of withdrawing or reducing financial support from an organization or program.
The term gained prominence in debates over police budgets: The activists called for defunding the police.
Despite the stark sound, defunding often means reallocation rather than complete elimination—shifting money toward social services, mental health, or community programs.
Reductions in spending
- eliminationAct of removing entirely
- dismantlingTaking apart systematically
- disinvestmentWithdrawing capital from assets
- scrappingDiscarding as worthless
reallocation · appropriations · allocation · expenditure · spending · fiscal · municipal · federal
Formal discontinuation of practice
- reallocationDistributing anew
- reformImprove by correcting faults
- communityCollective of connected people
- alternativesOther available options
oversight · accountability · brutality · misconduct · militarization · training · de-escalation · restorative
Reductions in spending
- rollbackReturn to prior condition
- decreaseBecome or make smaller
- downsizingReducing workforce or scale
- curtailmentAct of reducing scope
shrinking · slashing · trimming · lessening · contraction · austerity · belt-tightening · streamlining
Direct effort for reform
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- boycottOrganized economic protest
- petitionFormal written appeal
- grassrootsCommon people as political base
lobbying · advocacy · demonstration · march · rally · movement · coalition · hashtag
Official enactment of statutes
- governmentAuthority over a state
- reformImprove by correcting faults
- billAmount owed, written
- lawBinding principle or regulation
mandate · ordinance · regulation · statute · administration · governance · bipartisan · partisan
cutbacks
Reductions in spending
- eliminationAct of removing entirely
- dismantlingTaking apart systematically
- disinvestmentWithdrawing capital from assets
scrapping · reallocation · appropriations · allocation · expenditure · spending · fiscal · municipal · federal · state
abolition
Formal discontinuation of practice
- reallocationDistributing anew
- reformImprove by correcting faults
- communityCollective of connected people
alternatives · oversight · accountability · brutality · misconduct · militarization · training · de-escalation · restorative · transformative
cutbacks
Reductions in spending
- rollbackReturn to prior condition
- decreaseBecome or make smaller
- downsizingReducing workforce or scale
curtailment · shrinking · slashing · trimming · lessening · contraction · austerity · belt-tightening · streamlining · prioritization
activism
Direct effort for reform
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- boycottOrganized economic protest
- petitionFormal written appeal
grassroots · lobbying · advocacy · demonstration · march · rally · movement · coalition · hashtag · slogan
legislation
Official enactment of statutes
- governmentAuthority over a state
- reformImprove by correcting faults
- billAmount owed, written
law · mandate · ordinance · regulation · statute · administration · governance · bipartisan · partisan · proposal
- censorshipbanned books, censored, banned, book banning, book bans
- police reformpolice brutality, police misconduct, body cameras, community oversight, qualified immunity
- police relationscommunity policing, police accountability, police oversight, public trust, community outreach
- Reproductive Rightsabortion law, abortion ban, reproductive autonomy, bodily autonomy, right to choose
- policingpatrol, police powers, arrests, police officer, arrest
- reversalsreverse, undo, revert, overturn, flip
defundingfunding
Supplying monetary resources
financing · appropriating · bankrolling · subsidizing · capitalizing
defundingbolstering
Strengthening or supporting
strengthening · supporting · sustaining · propping up · shoring up
fund, funds, funding, refund, fundamental, defund, funded, fundamentally, refunded