deportation

noun

de·​por·​ta·​tion ˌdē-ˌpȯr-ˈtā-shən 

-pər-

plural deportations

: an act or instance of deporting

especially : the removal from a country by an executive government agency of a foreign-born noncitizen (such as one whose presence violates immigration laws or is ruled detrimental to the public welfare)

Synonyms of deportation

• expulsion

Examples of deportation in a Sentence

the deportation of the Jews from Spain in 1492

Recent Examples on the Web

Police in Redmond, Washington, suspended operation of their city’s Flock cameras earlier this year after a report that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had used data from the cameras for deportation efforts. —Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025

Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images ICE says Vizguerra entered the US illegally and has a final order of deportation. —Anna Alejo, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2025

Indiscriminate mass deportation of our law abiding, industrious, dutiful neighbors only recently arrived? —Connor Greene, Time, 18 Dec. 2025

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin for genocide—specifically over the deportation and re-education of Ukrainian children. —Literary Hub, 18 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for deportation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Legal Definition

deportation

noun

de·​por·​ta·​tion ˌdē-ˌpōr-ˈtā-shən 

: an act or instance of deporting

specifically : the removal from a country of an alien whose presence is illegal or detrimental to the public welfare compare exclusion