ostracism
Americannoun
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exclusion, by general consent, from social acceptance, privileges, friendship, etc.
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(in ancient Greece) temporary banishment of a citizen, decided upon by popular vote.
Etymology
Origin of ostracism
1570–80; < New Latin ostracismus < Greek ostrakismós banishment, equivalent to ostrak ( ízein ) to ostracize + -ismos -ism
Explanation
If you banish someone from society, you've caused that person's ostracism. Quakers, for example, faced ostracism by Puritans in colonial Massachusetts and many of them fled to the nearby colony of Rhode Island. Ostracism comes from the Greek word ostrakon, a broken shard of pottery. Athenians used pieces of pottery as a paper substitute in an annual vote in which citizens chose to banish someone from Athens for a period of ten years. The banished person had to leave (or face death) but was allowed to keep his property and could return when his ostracism was up. The vote was often used to get rid of potential tyrants and political rivals.
Vocabulary lists containing ostracism
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Power Suffix: -ism
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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.
In nonviolent settings, it leads to mean-girl-style ostracism or political backstabbing around the corporate watercooler.
From Slate • Mar. 16, 2026
One tactic the demos employed was ostracism, voting those who “towered” into exile.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
Its leaders used cult-like tactics such as “love-bombing” and social ostracism to push people beyond their comfort zones, and to isolate and punish dissenters.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2025
Blessedly, such ostracism has not been the case, and one has to assume that much of that is on Manville’s part.
From Salon • Dec. 16, 2024
You will face more hate and ridicule and ostracism than you can even begin to fathom.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
