Ostracize Has Greek Roots

In ancient Greece, citizens whose power or influence threatened the stability of the state could be exiled by a practice called ostracism. Voters would elect to banish another citizen by writing that citizen's name down on a potsherd. Those receiving enough votes would then be subject to temporary exile from the state. Ostracize originated with the meaning "to exile by the ancient method of ostracism," but these days it usually refers to the general exclusion of a person from a group at the agreement of its members.

Examples of ostracize in a Sentence

She was ostracized from the scientific community for many years because of her radical political beliefs. The other girls ostracized her because of the way she dressed.

Recent Examples on the Web Should the scientific community ostracize individual Russian researchers because of their government's policies or their support of their nation's leader? — Don Lincoln, CNN, 12 Apr. 2022 As a result, the industry went to great lengths to ostracize any opportunistic or dishonest operators. — David Hill, Harper’s Magazine , 27 Apr. 2022 Heated debates have erupted within the Eastern Orthodox Church in numerous countries whether to openly ostracize Patriarch Kirill and Russia. — New York Times, 18 Apr. 2022 But there is something particularly unworthy and low about Republican leaders refusing to readily condemn and ostracize the haters, extremists and nut cases in their midst. — Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2022 And the same pundits and politicians who have spent two years attempting to ostracize and slander anyone who opposed their mandates are now deeply upset by some gentle prodding. — David Harsanyi, National Review, 3 Mar. 2022 His plan to ostracize the unvaccinated caused a political uproar and would never fly in the US. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 11 Jan. 2022 Benton’s interpretation does incorporate punitive consequences—including suspension, when the severity of the behavior warrants it—but calls for those consequences to be applied in a way that doesn’t ostracize students from the school community. — Kat Mckim, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2022 Post that unethical action to the internet, and hoards of off-road enthusiasts will descend to boycott your business, ban you from group outings, and generally ostracize you from the community. — Wes Siler, Outside Online, 2 Oct. 2019 See More

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