exile
Americannoun
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expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree.
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the fact or state of expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree.
She had to live in exile.
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a person banished from their native land.
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prolonged separation from one's country or home, such as by force of circumstances.
Many will suffer wartime exile.
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anyone separated from their country or home voluntarily or by force of circumstances.
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the Exile, the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, 597–538 b.c.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a prolonged, usually enforced absence from one's home or country; banishment
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the expulsion of a person from his native land by official decree
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a person banished or living away from his home or country; expatriate
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has exiledperfect 3rd person singular
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have exiledperfect
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is exilingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been exilingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am exilingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been exilingperfect progressive
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are exilingprogressive
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exilingparticiple
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exilessingular 3rd person
Past
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had exiledperfect
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had been exilingperfect progressive
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were exilingprogressive plural
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was exilingprogressive singular
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exiledsimple
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exiledparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of exile
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English exil “banishment,” from Latin ex(s)ilium, equivalent to exsul “banished person” + -ium -ium
Explanation
If you are exiled from a place, you must leave and not return. Such punishment is called exile. For example, after he was removed from power, Napoleon lived in exile on the island of Elba. The verb exile comes from the Old French word essillier, meaning “banish, expel, or drive off.” However, some people who live in exile do so happily — and voluntarily — like American citizens in exile in Paris. Don't confuse being exiled with being banned: exile is for countries. If you cause trouble at a restaurant, you might be banned from returning, not exiled.
Vocabulary lists containing exile
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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Persepolis
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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.
The title of TEN YEARS' EXILE, is that of which the authoress herself made choice; I have deemed it proper to retain it, although the work, being unfinished, comprises only a period of seven years.
From Ten Years' Exile Memoirs of That Interesting Period of the Life of the Baroness De Stael-Holstein, Written by Herself, during the Years 1810, 1811, 1812, and 1813, and Now First Published from the Original Manuscript, by Her Son. by Stael-Holstein, Auguste Louis Baron de
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.