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.
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anyone separated from their country or home voluntarily or by force of circumstances.
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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:
Since fleeing into exile in India in 1959, he has been the center of a global Tibetan resistance movement to Chinese policies that he warns seek to “overwhelm” Tibet’s distinct identity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
"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 ● Sep. 30, 2026
The only need he expressed for it was as a fundraising tool for his Tibetan government in exile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
This led to his arrest for sedition and, ultimately, his ongoing exile in America.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Varda is the name of that Lady whom the Elves in these lands of exile name Elbereth.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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
“Never! We must continue the search. Exile the traitor!”
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
In Australia, home to a 3,000-strong Tibetan community, exiles were in anguish about family in Tibet.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
Didn’t tell me he was a fugitive, but us exiles don’t get into that kinda talk.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Some of the exiled had betrayed Britain decades earlier, their names allegedly appearing on a “naughty list” in the Soviet Embassy in London “in the wake of 1989.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 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
In 2024 the former Liverpool winger joined Arsenal on loan, but upon returning to Chelsea in 2025 was exiled from the first-team squad and made to train separately.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 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
Zero had taken hold in the West, and despite the papacy's objections, it was too strong to be exiled once more.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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
The exiling of “Jingle Bells” was first reported by writer Peter Lovenheim in the Rochester Beacon, an online publication.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 23, 2021
Bitter local officials pushed through an ordinance banning automobiles from the Stanford campus and all tourist areas, effectively exiling them from the city.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
