excommunication
Americannoun
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the act of excommunicating.
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the state of being excommunicated.
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the ecclesiastical sentence by which a person is excommunicated.
Etymology
Origin of excommunication
1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin excommūnicātiōn- (stem of excommūnicātiō ). See excommunicate, -ion
Explanation
The noun excommunication is a formal way of describing what happens when someone gets kicked out of his or her church, for good. Excommunication is really a kind of banishment, a punishment that's handed out by a church when one of its members breaks some important church rule. The Latin root is excommunicare, meaning "put out of the community," which is just what happens when a person is excommunicated. The term is used most often in churches whose traditions include the concept of communion, as another Latin meaning of excommunication is "to expel from communion."
Vocabulary lists containing excommunication
The Crucible
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"The Crucible," Vocabulary from the play
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 1
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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.
Although Pope Benedict XVI repealed the excommunication in 2009 in an unsuccessful attempt to heal the rift, Pope Leo is also expected to exclude the new bishops from the Catholic Church.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
As in 1988, the society's future bishops will be consecrated without assigned jurisdiction from Rome, in a situation the group claims precludes any schism or excommunication -- though the Vatican views the matter differently.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
From what you say, there is little room for middle ground between excommunication and open lines of communication.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026
Stankorb explained that this implies excommunication, "a serious threat for women who have no job or independent income."
From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2024
The entire village was witness to the excommunication.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
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.
