banish

ban·ish

verb \ˈba-nish\

Definition of BANISH

transitive verb

1

: to require by authority to leave a country

2

: to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance

3

: to clear away : dispel <his discovery banishes anxiety — Stringfellow Barr>

— ban·ish·er noun

— ban·ish·ment \-nish-mənt\ noun

Examples of BANISH

1. He was banished for life.
2. The dictator banished anyone who opposed him.

Origin of BANISH

Middle English, from Anglo-French baniss-, stem of banir, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German bannan to command — more at ban

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to BANISH

Synonyms: deport, displace, exile, expatriate, relegate, transport

Related Words: cast out, dismiss, eject, eliminate, evict, exclude, expel, expulse, kick out, oust, run out, throw out; excommunicate, ostracize, reject, repudiate, spurn; dispossess

Near Antonyms: naturalize, repatriate; accept, admit, receive, take in; entertain, harbor, house, shelter

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Synonym Discussion of BANISH

banish, exile, deport, transport mean to remove by authority from a state or country. banish implies compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own <banished for seditious activities>. exile may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country <a writer who exiled himself for political reasons>. deport implies sending out of the country an alien who has illegally entered or whose presence is judged inimical to the public welfare <illegal aliens will be deported>. transport implies sending a convicted criminal to an overseas penal colony <a convict who was transported to Australia>.

Rhymes with BANISH

clannish, mannish, planish, Spanish, tannish, vanish