Definition of deportnext

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb deport contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of deport are banish, exile, and transport. While all these words mean "to remove by authority from a state or country," 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

When might banish be a better fit than deport?

In some situations, the words banish and deport are roughly equivalent. However, banish implies compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own.

banished for seditious activities

When is it sensible to use exile instead of deport?

The synonyms exile and deport are sometimes interchangeable, but exile may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country.

a writer who exiled himself for political reasons

When is transport a more appropriate choice than deport?

The meanings of transport and deport largely overlap; however, transport implies sending a convicted criminal to an overseas penal colony.

a convict who was transported to Australia

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deport Estrada Juarez was deported to Mexico by the next morning. Mathew Miranda updated March 31, Sacbee.com, 1 Apr. 2026 Kast won 58% of the vote after pledging to crack down on crime and deport immigrants without legal status. ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026 In a conversation with Robby, Santos, and social worker Dylan, Chantal, who has been a little cagey on the situation at home, finally opens up about her parents: They were deported to Haiti nine months ago after being detained at one of their immigration hearings. Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026 In some cases, children whose parents were deported remained in the U.S. with a parent who had not been deported or with extended family. Laura Clawson, JSTOR Daily, 6 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for deport
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deport
Verb
  • Once used by Iran's monarchy to exile political prisoners, this rock is deceptively fertile on the ground.
    Alexander Smith, NBC news, 25 Mar. 2026
  • In the Sixties in Greece, under military rule, the music of Mikis Theodorakis was prohibited by decree, its composer imprisoned and exiled.
    Christina Hioureas, Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • He was acquitted of murder in the first degree.
    Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The jurors acquitted him of second-degree murder.
    ABC News, ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Rename the file, banish it to some obscure folder.
    JD Barker, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Angels could be seen all around — some on the walls depicting Moses' life and death, and another above, on Michelangelo’s fresco, banishing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
    ABC News, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The men, ranging in age from twenty-nine to sixty-four, carried rucksacks containing the few items that they were allowed to bring.
    Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
  • For a Nets team that has watched too many games slip in the same way, the early minutes of the fourth carried a familiar warning.
    C.J. Holmes, New York Daily News, 30 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • Unlike when the Heat were in the midst of a seven-game winning streak the last time the teams met, the Heat now again have effectively been relegated to the play-in tournament.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Lose enough, get relegated to a lower division, and you’ll be forced to lay off staff and take a write-down on your investment as your revenues drastically shrink.
    Andrés Martinez, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Emma and Charlie are dizzied by the wedding industrial complex, with its parade of chirpy, pushy florists and photographers and dance coaches who behave like their corner of the upcoming party is the centerpiece of the night.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2026
  • On the other hand, imagine holding five energy companies that seem to move in sync—behaving like one trade spread across five stocks.
    Doug Ashburn, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • Luari also was evicted from a second bakery location in West Hartford’s Blue Back Square that never opened.
    Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 26 Mar. 2026
  • The question has been asked a lot since the former Duchess was evicted from Royal Lodge alongside her ex-husband, the former prince Andrew.
    Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 26 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • When Robby races into the room, our drunk country clubber is being restrained, and his nose is bleeding.
    Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The seven dogs in question have since returned home, with the German shepherd now restrained on a leash until its heat cycle ends.
    Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Deport.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deport. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.

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