banish
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to expel from or relegate to a country or place by authoritative decree; condemn to exile.
He was banished to Devil's Island.
- Synonyms:
- deport, outlaw, expatriate, exile
-
to compel to depart; send, drive, or put away.
to banish sorrow.
verb
-
to expel from a place, esp by an official decree as a punishment
-
to drive away
to banish gloom
Other Word Forms
- banisher noun
- banishment noun
- self-banished adjective
- unbanished adjective
Etymology
Origin of banish
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English banisshen, from Anglo-French, Old French baniss-, long stem of banir, from unrecorded Frankish bannjan “to proclaim,” akin to ban 1
Explanation
To banish is to get rid of. Think very carefully before you banish someone from your group. Someday, you may want that person around again. Banish rhymes with vanish, which is exactly what happens when you banish someone. Suppose a king, angry with some of his subjects, banishes them. They have to leave the kingdom and vanish — not just go home and wait for the king to change his mind. Banish comes from the Old French word bannir, which means "proclaim as an outlaw." It is serious and absolute. You can see the word ban in banish, but to ban something is not as harsh as banishing it.
Vocabulary lists containing banish
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 6
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
We should banish it, because I’ve learned the hard way that it’s too abstract.
From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026
And banish this phrase—“You’re away,” the needless etiquette of having the player farthest from the hole hit first after tee shots and other shots approaching the green.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
He also claims that the prince fears that his brother, the future king, "could remove all the Sussexes' titles and effectively banish him from Britain".
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026
Moments later Cronin was grabbing the kid’s shirt and leading him to the baseline, where he ordered an assistant coach to remove him from the court area and banish him to the locker room.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026
Then demand if Sheba’s queen E’er can banish from her thought All the splendour she has seen, All the knowledge thou hast taught?
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
