banishment

[ban-ish-muhnt]

noun

1. expulsion from a country, place, or position by authoritative decree, or the state of having been expelled.

   A royal proclamation ordered the banishment of all priests from the city.

   The team’s wide receiver flunked another drug test and will now be subject to a one-year banishment, according to league sources.

2. the act of driving away, or the state of having been sent away or driven out.

   We strive for the preservation of peace and the banishment of tyranny and slavery from the earth.

   The decades after World War II were marked not by disarmament and the banishment of war but by ceaseless confrontation and the division of the world into hostile blocs.

Other Word Forms

• nonbanishment noun
• probanishment noun
• self-banishment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of banishment¹

banish ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Example Sentences

After his banishment, the 27-year-old revealed that he had always been a faithful.

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Despite its extended running time, the episode ended without a murder or a banishment, leaving us with a huge number of questions.

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It may not have been felonious enough to demand civil punishment, but it certainly required banishment from the game and from any of its rewards.

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Cher wasn’t offended by the banishment; in fact, she clarified her fashion intentions with impeccable logic.

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“We got banned,” said Swagrman, who was told the reason for the banishment was because he would not give his name or ID to the officer.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deportation 
• expulsion