expel

[ ik-spel ]

/ ɪkˈspɛl /

verb (used with object), ex·pelled, ex·pel·ling.

to drive or force out or away; discharge or eject: to expel air from the lungs; to expel an invader from a country.

to cut off from membership or relations: to expel a student from a college.

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Lincolnesque

without interest or significance; dull; insipid.

like or characteristic of Abraham Lincoln.

very high or tall; lofty.

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Words nearby expel

expedite, expediter, expedition, expeditionary, expeditious, expel, expellant, expellee, expeller, expellers, expend

Origin of expel

1350–1400; Middle English expellen < Latin expellere to drive out, drive away, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + pellere to push, drive

SYNONYMS FOR expel

2 oust, dismiss, exile, excommunicate.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR expel ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM expel

ex·pel·la·ble, adjectivere·ex·pel, verb (used with object), re·ex·pelled, re·ex·pel·ling.un·ex·pel·la·ble, adjectiveun·ex·pelled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for expel

They wanted to expel the demons which they believed caused impure thoughts.
Beaten By His Church for Being Gay|Justin Jones|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They expel difficult students and refuse to admit students that public schools have to admit—like kids with disabilities.
Hunger Games Comes to New York State’s Public Schools|Zephyr Teachout|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Simultaneously, a brigade of mercenaries and Congolese soldiers would seal off the city and expel the guerrillas.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After investigating the case and bringing together all of the evidence I moved to expel him from the Senate.
And Now Mitch McConnell Is the ‘Pro-Woman’ Candidate!|Eleanor Clift|October 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

As an Ebola patient slips from bad to worse to dire, he can expel as many as two and a half gallons of effluvia a day.
Ebola Nurses Are As Brave As Soldiers|Michael Daly|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If you are determined to expel all comfort from your house, be a Drunkard; and you will soon do it effectually.
Select Temperance Tracts|American Tract Society
"I cannot expel the passion that rankles in my blood," Basil interposed darkly.
Under the Witches' Moon|Nathan Gallizier
Lying is like Nature, you may expel her with a fork, but she will always come back again.
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler|Samuel Butler
Pumps were no longer of any use to expel the water, for pump as one might, the water kept pouring in.
Peasant Tales of Russia|V.I. Nemirovitch-Dantchenko
Joyeuse now called on the citizens of Nismes to lay down their arms, to expel all the refugees, and to receive a garrison.
History of the Rise of the Huguenots|Henry Baird

British Dictionary definitions for expel

expel

/ (ɪkˈspɛl) /

verb -pels, -pelling or -pelled (tr)

to eject or drive out with force

to deprive of participation in or membership of a school, club, etc

Derived forms of expel

expellable, adjectiveexpellee (ˌɛkspɛˈliː), nounexpeller, noun

Word Origin for expel

C14: from Latin expellere to drive out, from pellere to thrust, drive

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

expel

verb (used with object), ex·pelled, ex·pel·ling.

QUIZZES

Words related to expel

Words nearby expel

Origin of expel

SYNONYMS FOR expel

OTHER WORDS FROM expel

Example sentences from the Web for expel

British Dictionary definitions for expel

verb -pels, -pelling or -pelled (tr)

Derived forms of expel

Word Origin for expel