excommunication

noun

ex·​com·​mu·​ni·​ca·​tion ˌek-skə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən 

1

: an ecclesiastical censure depriving a person of the rights of church membership

2

: exclusion from fellowship in a group or community

excommunicative

ˌek-skə-ˈmyü-nə-ˌkā-tiv 

-ni-kə-tiv

adjective

Examples of excommunication in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On July 2, the Vatican decreed the excommunication of the SSPX’s bishops and priests, one day after the group consecrated four new bishops in Switzerland without the pope’s consent. — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2026

The excommunication applies to the newly consecrated bishops, any SSPX priest and anyone who formally adheres to the society. — Emily Broyles, Charlotte Observer, 10 July 2026

The Vatican said dialogue was offered to the ​group ahead of the schism and that the step of ordaining ​bishops without ⁠church approval was considered so grave that excommunication was automatic. — Reuters, NBC news, 5 July 2026

In 2009, after years of strained relations between SSPX and the Holy See, Pope Benedict XVI remitted the 1988 excommunications as a step toward healing the rift. — Noah Labelle, NPR, 2 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for excommunication

• acclimatisation
• acclimatization
• acidification
• actualization
• annualization
• autocorrelation
• autoregulation
• beatification
• beneficiation
• biodegradation
• biotransformation
• bureaucratization