Definition of EXILE

Choose the Right Synonym for exile

Verb

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

Examples of exile in a Sentence

Noun

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

Verb

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Those are to start early next year and will signal the return of orbital human spaceflight to U.S. soil after years of exile in Russia. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "The Virgin Galactic Hype Totally Misses the Point," 13 Dec. 2018 Tibbo said Hong Kong rejected Rodel’s asylum request and since then officials there have grilled her over her contacts with Snowden, who now lives in exile in Russia. — Rob Gillies, The Seattle Times, "Canada takes refugee who sheltered Snowden," 26 Mar. 2019 In 1970, after spending years working in exile in Europe, Orson Welles came home to Hollywood. — Keith Phipps, The Verge, "Netflix’s Orson Welles revival is strange, fascinating, and frustrating," 1 Nov. 2018 Party leader and former President Mohamed Nasheed, in exile in Sri Lanka, had hoped to run again but was disqualified because of an outstanding prison sentence in the Maldives. — Fox News, "Maldives' provisional elections results show opposition win," 24 Sep. 2018 Alexander was born in London, baptized at Westminster Abbey, and then raised in exile in the United Kingdom. — Maggie Maloney, Town & Country, "Everything to Know About Queen Elizabeth's 30 Godchildren," 9 Sep. 2018 Edamaruku lives in exile in Finland because of his work fighting superstition. — Seema Yasmin, SELF, "In Rural India, Protecting Women From Witch Hunting, and an Impending Flood," 17 Aug. 2018 But Egypt has in recent years shown itself capable of character assassination, driving into exile or even jailing celebrities or public figures who call for reform or criticize el-Sissi's policies. — Hamza Hendawi, Fox News, "Salah must tread carefully if he's to reform soccer in Egypt," 7 Sep. 2018 The Chinese Communist Party continues to hold the families of political exiles and immigrants hostage, securing their silence with the implied — or direct — promise of harm. — Emily Rauhala, Washington Post, "Poet Liu Xia escaped China, but will Beijing ever set her free?," 13 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Within that territory, eighty percent of the Arab population had been exiled and Jews now made up a majority. — Nathan Thrall, Time, "How the Idea of Return Has Shaped the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict for 70 Years," 14 May 2018 Something is wrong, has been wrong since her childhood, when her family was exiled after the revolution in Iran. — Lidija Haas, The New Yorker, "Memoirs of Disease and Disbelief," 17 June 2014 Of course, this doesn't go over well and Tall Boy is immediately stripped of his jacket and exiled from the Serpents. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "OK, But Who The Heck is Tall Boy on "Riverdale"?," 24 Jan. 2019 After all, for decades Claridge’s has held supreme client boasting rights; its devotees have included royals (current, retired, and exiled), movie stars, and other such creatures. — Town & Country, "Wall of Shame: What Happens to Controversial Portrait Walls in the #MeToo Era?," 30 Nov. 2018 When all canines are exiled to a garbage dump island, a 12-year-old boy sets out to find his bodyguard dog in this animated film. — Kevin Crust, latimes.com, "L.A. movie openings, March 23," 18 Mar. 2018 Slated to come out later this year, the film stars Lucas Hedges as a gay teen pressured by his family Baptist parents (Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) to enter a conversion therapy program — or else be exiled by his family and church. — Mathew Shurka, Teen Vogue, ""The Miseducation of Cameron Post" and "Boy Erased" Are Putting an Important Spotlight on Conversion Therapy," 3 Aug. 2018 Matt Harvey, who three years ago was one of the most dynamic pitchers in the game, is just a shell of himself these days, exiled to Cincinnati, trying to resurrect his career and land any contract next winter, let alone a generational one. — Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, "MLB's great free agent class of 2018 limping toward finish line," 11 June 2018 But in all those years no alderman's been exiled from his own brood—until now. — Ben Joravsky, Chicago Reader, "Clout City / Politics Why did Carlos Ramirez-Rosa get kicked out of the City Council’s Latino Caucus?," 24 May 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.