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• exile
  exile

  noun

  expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree.
• Exile
  Exile

  noun

  another name for Babylonian captivity

exile

American  

[eg-zahyl, ek-sahyl] / ˈɛg zaɪl, ˈɛk saɪl /

noun

1. expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree.

2. the fact or state of expulsion from one's native land by authoritative decree.

   She had to live in exile.

3. a person banished from their native land.

4. prolonged separation from one's country or home, such as by force of circumstances.

   Many will suffer wartime exile.

5. anyone separated from their country or home voluntarily or by force of circumstances.

6. the Exile, the Babylonian captivity of the Jews, 597–538 b.c.

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verb (used with object)

exiled, exiling

1. to expel or banish (a person) from their country; expatriate.

   Synonyms:

   deport, eject, evict

2. to separate from country, home, etc..

   Disagreements exiled him from his family.

   Synonyms:

   deport, eject, evict

exile ¹ British  

/ ˈɛksaɪl, ɛɡˈzɪlɪk, ɛkˈsɪlɪk, ˈɛɡzaɪl /

noun

1. a prolonged, usually enforced absence from one's home or country; banishment

2. the expulsion of a person from his native land by official decree

3. a person banished or living away from his home or country; expatriate

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verb

1. to expel from home or country, esp by official decree as a punishment; banish

Exile ² British  

/ ˈɛɡzaɪl, ˈɛksaɪl /

noun

1. another name for Babylonian captivity

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Other Word Forms

• exilable
  adjective
• exiler
  noun
• exilic
  adjective
• quasi-exiled
  adjective
• unexiled
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Screams echo from the upstairs bedrooms, where two husbands are in exile, watching a Green Bay Packers game with a newborn baby.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

After going into self-imposed exile, he re-emerged last year in Goma, the key eastern city that had come under the control of Rwandan-based M23 fighters as they mounted a lightning offensive.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

Levine Cava, the Miami-Dade mayor, said her Venezuelan constituents—Miami has the largest Venezuelan exile community in the U.S.—fear returning to a country where the same repressive regime remains in power.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

Ibrahem now lives in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, after spending several years in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, but life in exile remains uncertain.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

“No, Marguerite, I embrace this exile, for I wish to five in peace. But will you ever return home?”

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Related Words

• banish
• displace
• drive out
• evacuate
• expel
• extradite
• ostracize
• oust
• outlaw
• relegate