ostracize

[os-truh-sahyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ostracize ON THESAURUS.COM

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ostracize ON THESAURUS.COM

1. shun, snub, blacklist.

Antonyms for ostracize

1. accept.

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

Related Words for ostracization

ostracism, ignoring, ostracization

Examples from the Web for ostracization

Contemporary Examples of ostracization

What can this tell us about the history of disability and ostracization?
Living With Disability in the Dark Ages
Elizabeth Picciuto
July 22, 2014
My family suffers from the ostracization I experienced until this very day.
Peter Beinart’s Bias Against Me, Cory Booker, and Israel
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
June 14, 2013

Historical Examples of ostracization

She was also too heavily conditioned to graduate, and she hated college since her ostracization by the Sans.
Marjorie Dean College Junior
Pauline Lester

British Dictionary definitions for ostracization

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 ostracization

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.