expel
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to drive or force out or away; discharge or eject.
to expel air from the lungs; to expel an invader from a country.
-
to cut off from membership or relations.
to expel a student from a college.
- Synonyms:
- excommunicate , exile , dismiss , oust
verb
-
to eject or drive out with force
-
to deprive of participation in or membership of a school, club, etc
Other Word Forms
- expellable adjective
- expellee noun
- expeller noun
- reexpel verb (used with object)
- unexpellable adjective
Etymology
Origin of expel
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English expellen, from Latin expellere “to drive out, drive away,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + pellere “to push, drive”
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.
Party officials said they had been expelled due to a clear breach of the rules that banned members from belonging to other political parties.
From BBC
Washington expelled Bolivia's ambassador in retaliation, and the envoys were never replaced.
From Barron's
Western missionaries were expelled; churches, mosques and temples were brought under state control or shuttered; and clergy who refused to join government-sanctioned “patriotic associations” were imprisoned.
The firm was then expelled by the National Association of Funeral Directors.
From BBC
One of Easton’s friends was expelled for exhibiting similar behaviors, leading Stacks to search for additional help.
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.
