exile

noun ex·ile \ ˈeg-ˌzī(-ə)l , ˈek-ˌsī(-ə)l \

Updated on: 20 May 2018

Definition of exile

1 a : the state or a period of forced absence from one's country or home

b : the state or a period of voluntary absence from one's country or home

2 : a person who is in exile

—

exilic

play \eg-ˈzi-lik\ adjective

See exile defined for English-language learners

See exile defined for kids

Examples of exile in a Sentence

They hoped that his exile would be temporary.
Many chose to live as exiles rather than face persecution.

Recent Examples of exile from the Web

After the cafeteria exiles and karaoke brouhahas, the 30th Street Center teamed up with a local nonprofit, the Institute on Aging, to develop an anti-bullying program.

— matt sedensky, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Senior center bullies: "It's like `Mean Girls,' but everyone is 80”," 14 May 2018
Copley said—where Prince Ermias recently told me about his own experience of exile, and how he was helped through it.

— michael joseph gross, Vanities, "“There’s Nothing Wrong with Falling from Grace”: The Global Network of Monarchists Helping Deposed Kings and Queens," 27 Apr. 2018
The two films explore ideas about otherness, empathy, exile and displacement.

— mary louise schumacher, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "A direct line to Milwaukee, a journey to Japan," 27 Apr. 2018
Dundar, who now lives in exile in Germany, was initially included in the trial alongside the 17 Cumhuriyet staff members, but was separated from the case when the judge read Wednesday's verdict.

— kristen mctighe, USA TODAY, "Turkish court finds newspaper staff guilty on terror charges," 25 Apr. 2018
For the boy from Lombardy, this outpost of changeable weather and rough seas seemed like some sort of exile.

— SI.com, "World Cup Countdown: 12 Weeks to Go - Cagliari's Hero and Italy's Nearly Man, Gigi Riva," 29 Mar. 2018
Philippe Tissié, one of the first psychiatrists to study fugue, characterized it as a kind of self-exile.

— naomi fry, The New Yorker, "How a Young Woman Lost Her Identity," 26 Mar. 2018
Al-Rubaie was in exile in London until shortly after March 20, 2003, the date exactly 15 years ago when U.S. aircraft pummeled Baghdad, marking the first moments of the Iraq War.

— Time, "This Iraqi Doctor Says He Has the Rope That Hanged Saddam Hussein. Here’s Why He’s Keeping It," 20 Mar. 2018
Through his mother, Castro Diaz-Balart was the cousin of some of Castro's most bitter enemies in the Cuban American exile community, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and former U.S. congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart.

— author: sarah marsh, marc frank, Anchorage Daily News, "Fidel Castro’s eldest son commits suicide," 2 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of exile

Middle English exil, from Anglo-French essil, exil, from Latin exilium, from exul, exsul an exile

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

exile Synonyms

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

exile

verb

Definition of exile

exiled; exiling

transitive verb

: to banish or expel from one's own country or home

See exile defined for English-language learners

Examples of exile in a Sentence

with their conquest of the Moors complete, Ferdinand and Isabella next exiled the Jews from Spain

Recent Examples of exile from the Web

This revelation establishes an immediate bond between me, a Syrian journalist exiled in Germany, and them, Syrians being bombed by their own government.

— nour alakraa, WSJ, "Syria’s Cycle: Siege, Starve, Surrender, Repeat," 23 Mar. 2018
Now that Russia’s secret services stand accused of brazenly poisoning Sergei Skripal, a former double agent exiled in the U.K., more may be coming.

— ian bremmer, Time, "Putin Won. But Russia Is Losing," 22 Mar. 2018
Particular outrage has coalesced around the presence of Mr. Hun Sen, who has spent the past six months methodically jailing or exiling his political opponents and critics, in advance of elections scheduled for July.

— julia wallace, New York Times, "Cambodia’s Ruler Dared Australians to Burn His Effigy, So They Did," 19 Mar. 2018
In his second feature documentary, director Ziad Kalthoum ('The Immortal Sergeant') chronicles the lives of Syrian construction workers exiled in Beirut.

— jordan mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Taste of Cement': Film Review," 6 Feb. 2018
Black Widow is also exiled, for letting Cap and Bucky pursue the movie’s villain, Baron Zemo.

— alex abad-santos, Vox, "9 questions about Avengers: Infinity War you were too embarrassed to ask," 2 May 2018
Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. 203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu INVENTUR — ART IN GERMANY, 1943-55 Art history has neglected postwar German art because many German artists were killed or exiled during World War II.

— BostonGlobe.com, "The Ticket: What’s happening in the local arts world," 27 Apr. 2018
The emails were obtained by Dossier, an organization set up by Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, a former tycoon who was stripped of his oil holdings, imprisoned and then exiled from his native Russia.

— andrew e. kramer and sharon lafraniere, New York Times, "Lawyer Who Was Said to Have Dirt on Clinton Had Closer Ties to Kremlin Than She Let On," 27 Apr. 2018
Janine and Ofglen, Alexis Bledel’s now series-regular character, have both been exiled to the Colonies, a barren wasteland the show will depict for the first time this year.

— paul chi, HWD, "The Handmaid's Tale vs. Trump's America," 19 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of exile

14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

exile Synonyms

Synonyms

banish, deport, displace, expatriate, relegate, transport;

Near Antonyms

naturalize, repatriate;

accept, admit, receive, take in;

entertain, harbor, house, shelter;

excommunicate, ostracize, reject, repudiate, spurn;

dispossess;

Synonym Discussion of exile

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

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

EXILE Defined for English Language Learners

exile

noun

Definition of exile for English Language Learners

: a situation in which you are forced to leave your country or home and go to live in a foreign country
: a period of time during which someone has lived in exile
: a person who has been forced to live in a foreign country : a person who is in exile

exile

verb

Definition of exile for English Language Learners

: to force (someone) to go to live in a distant place or foreign country : to force (someone) into exile

EXILE Defined for Kids

exile

noun ex·ile \ ˈeg-ˌzīl , ˈek-ˌsīl \

Definition of exile for Students

1 : the situation of a person who is forced to leave his or her own country

He's living in exile.

2 : the period of time someone is forced to live away from his or her country

a 20 year exile

3 : a person who is forced to leave his or her own country

exile

verb

Definition of exile for Students

exiled; exiling

: to force (someone) to leave his or her own country

Learn More about exile

See words that rhyme with exile Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for exile Spanish Central: Translation of exile Nglish: Translation of exile for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of exile for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about exile

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exile

Definition of exile

exilic

Examples of exile in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of exile

exile Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Government and Politics Terms

exile

Definition of exile

Examples of exile in a Sentence

Recent Examples of exile from the Web

First Known Use of exile

exile Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Synonym Discussion of exile

Other Government and Politics Terms

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EXILE Defined for English Language Learners

exile

Definition of exile for English Language Learners

exile

Definition of exile for English Language Learners

EXILE Defined for Kids

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exile

Definition of exile for Students

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