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

Example Sentences

On Tuesday, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's last shah, urged people in Iran to obtain essential supplies as soon as possible and wait for what he called his "final call".

From BBC

Hasina, 78, who has been sentenced in absentia to death for crimes against humanity, is in self-imposed exile in India.

From Barron's

Stationed in The Hague in 1658, he quietly pursued Royalist exiles at their local bookshop.

From The Wall Street Journal

But he lived abroad from the 1960s until 1999, mainly writing and teaching in France and Spain, before ending what he called his "voluntary exile" and returning to Peru.

From BBC

That is the condition of Iranian exile: You inherit a country that no longer exists, and you build your life around its absence.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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