banish

[ban-ish]

verb (used with object)

1. 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

2. to compel to depart; send, drive, or put away.

   to banish sorrow.

banish

/ ˈbænɪʃ /

verb

1. to expel from a place, esp by an official decree as a punishment

2. to drive away

   to banish gloom

Other Word Forms

• banisher noun
• banishment noun
• self-banished adjective
• unbanished adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of banish¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of banish¹

C14: from Old French banir , of Germanic origin; compare Old High German ban

Example Sentences

They were outraged that they couldn’t prevent Brazilian authorities from successfully prosecuting Bolsonaro on charges that may send him to prison, and will probably banish him from politics for life.

Read more on Salon

Their experiments showed that a short blast of ultraviolet light killed the microbes and banished the stink.

Read more on BBC

Firebrand newspaper proprietor and independent presidential candidate Ralph Volcere has used his weekly publication to denounce the priest-president as a self-serving autocrat – and has since been banished from State House press calls.

Read more on BBC

The old doubts could have been banished with a statement result.

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But that might effectively banish her from returning to the United States, where she had toiled as a field worker for most of the past quarter-century — and where she had deep family ties.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dismiss 
• dispel 
• drive away www.thesaurus.com
• eject 
• eliminate 
• eradicate 
• evict 
• exclude 
• exile 
• get rid of 
• isolate 
• ostracize 
• oust 
• outlaw 
• relegate 
• remove