banish
[ ban-ish ]
/ ˈbæn ɪʃ /
Save This Word!
verb (used with object)
to expel from or relegate to a country or place by authoritative decree; condemn to exile: He was banished to Devil's Island.
to compel to depart; send, drive, or put away: to banish sorrow.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Origin of banish
1275–1325; Middle English banisshen<Anglo-French, Old French baniss-, long stem of banir<Frankish *bannjan to proclaim, akin to ban1
OTHER WORDS FROM banish
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for banish
British Dictionary definitions for banish
banish
/ (ˈbænɪʃ) /
verb (tr)
to expel from a place, esp by an official decree as a punishment
to drive awayto banish gloom
Derived forms of banish
banishment, nounWord Origin for banish
C14: from Old French banir, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German ban
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012