exile
noun
expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree.
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Which poet wrote his most famous work while in exile?
exile
American
[eg-zahyl, ek-sahyl]
/ ˈɛg zaɪl, ˈɛk saɪl /
noun
-
exiles
plural
-
expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree.
-
the fact or state of expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree.
She had to live in exile.
-
a person banished from their native land.
-
prolonged separation from one's country or home, such as by force of circumstances.
Many will suffer wartime exile.
-
anyone separated from their country or home voluntarily or by force of circumstances.
-
the Exile, the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, 597–538 b.c.
verb (used with object)
-
exiles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
exiled,
past participle, past
-
exiling
present participle
exile
1
British
/ ˈɛksaɪl, ˈɛɡzaɪl /
noun
-
a prolonged, usually enforced absence from one's home or country; banishment
-
the expulsion of a person from his native land by official decree
-
a person banished or living away from his home or country; expatriate
verb
Exile
2
British
/ ˈɛɡzaɪl, ˈɛksaɪl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
exilesimple
-
exilessimple
-
have exiledperfect
-
has exiledperfect
-
am exilingprogressive
-
are exilingprogressive
-
is exilingprogressive
-
have been exilingperfect progressive
-
has been exilingperfect progressive
Past
-
exiledsimple
-
had exiledperfect
-
was exilingprogressive
-
were exilingprogressive
-
had been exilingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
Several Russian activists in exile told the BBC that immigration officials had told them they faced "no danger" in Russia, and that officials often lacked an adequate understanding of the risks that activists face.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
In September, she told BBC Sport: "Why are we here again? Women and girls in Afghanistan are denied the same rights as those in our country, and the women's team lives in exile," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Nobel peace laureate and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado remains in exile, though she has said she will not interfere and hopes to see concrete results.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Kelden, a 56-year-old former monk born in India to Tibetan exile parents, moved to China in 1987 as a teenager.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
At times I would try to befriend the exile, at other times I would try to ignore him, but they were treacherous.
From "Grendel" by John Gardner
Exile, in Joyce’s case, was determined and purposeful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Earlier this year, Simon Ekpa, leader of a breakaway faction of Ipob called Biafra Republic Government In Exile, was convicted in Finland of terrorism and other activities in Nigeria's south-east.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
Exile and loss, battle and betrayal, disinheritance and vengeance, old age and human frailty — of all the grandeur and pathos of “King Lear,” one theme had always stood out for him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
Then four years later, the Rolling Stones installed themselves on the Riviera for the challenging basement recording of "Exile on Main St."
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2023
I had been busy with pain and rage, but not with fear, till now; I had not thought that the Order of Exile might be mere pretext for my execution.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
In the 1930s and 1940s, postrevolutionary Mexico emerged as both an incubator of modern art and haven for European refugees, political exiles and other expats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
For a woman who Hollywood exiles into the Nevada desert, only for her to build an empire and return to Los Angeles to conquer the industry, besting cancer should be a cinch.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
In 1961, about 1,400 Cuban exiles trained by the Central Intelligence Agency landed at the Bay of Pigs on Cuba’s southern coast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026
In February 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two small civilian planes - owned by a group of Cuban exiles in Miami.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
“And Daenerys will give the exiles what Bittersteel and the Blackfyres never could. She will take them home.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
The CIA had been aware of the al-Qaeda network and its exiled Saudi leader, Osama Bin Laden, for years prior to 2001.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
María Corina Machado, the exiled leader of the Venezuelan opposition and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, on Thursday raised her own worries about what the oil deal means for the future of Venezuela.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
The exiled Russian writer Nina Berberova ecstatically recalled touring Rome with Muratov as her guide: “He loved Italy and taught me to love it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Notably absent from the table is exiled opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, who has said she will not stand in the way of the process.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Her abuela—that same old face she’d feared and loved as a child—was Lucera, the exiled sun of the spirit world.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
In 1952 his re-entry permit to the U.S. was revoked, effectively exiling him for nearly 20 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
When his boss threatens to uproot his homeland by exiling its residents, Sandi defies the mobster, fleeing with his son soon afterward.
From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
He said that invading forces had ransacked his offices, exiling his team to another location where they are attempting to continue running their city.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2022
She also heeds Logan's orders, exiling Kendall, her own child, from her party to accommodate her ex-husband, who won't be seen with him.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2021
Now Alex was exiling Bri, the sweetest of them all.
From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer
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