ostracize

[os-truh-sahyz]

verb (used with object), os·tra·cized, os·tra·ciz·ing.

to exclude, by general consent, from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc.: His friends ostracized him after his father's arrest.

to banish (a person) from his or her native country; expatriate.

(in ancient Greece) to banish (a citizen) temporarily by popular vote.

Also especially British, os·tra·cise.

Origin of ostracize

1640–50; < Greek ostrakízein, equivalent to óstrak(on) potsherd, tile, ballot (akin to óstreion oyster, shell) + -izein -ize

Related formsos·tra·ciz·a·ble, adjectiveos·tra·ci·za·tion, nounos·tra·ciz·er, noun

Synonyms for ostracize

1. shun, snub, blacklist.

Antonyms for ostracize

1. accept.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ostracise

In their turn they ostracise him after their fashion; so he becomes a silent, solitary youth, self-reliant, and old for his years.
The Gamekeeper at Home|Richard Jefferies
He handled his political opposers with great severity which accounts for the mighty effort made to ostracise him from the Bench.
Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution|L. Carroll Judson
She knew that the world could not afford to ostracise the men,—though happily it might condemn the women.
An Eye for an Eye|Anthony Trollope
It was manifestly the intention of her family to ostracise her altogether.
The Way We Live Now|Anthony Trollope

(following him slightly C.) Why yield to her when we might ostracise her?
Niobe, All Smiles|Harry Paulton and Edward A. (Edward Antonio) Paulton

British Dictionary definitions for ostracise

ostracize

ostracise

verb (tr)

to exclude or banish (a person) from a particular group, society, etc

(in ancient Greece) to punish by temporary exile

Derived Formsostracism, nounostracizable or ostracisable, adjectiveostracizer or ostraciser, noun

Word Origin for ostracize

C17: from Greek ostrakizein to select someone for banishment by voting on potsherds; see ostracon

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

Word Origin and History for ostracise

chiefly British English spelling of ostracize (q.v.); for suffix, see -ize. Related: Ostracised.

ostracize

1640s, from Greek ostrakizein "to banish," literally "to banish by voting with potshards" (see ostracism). Figurative sense of "to exclude from society" is attested from 1640s. Related: Ostracization; ostracized; ostracizing.