banish

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb banish contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of banish are deport, exile, and transport. While all these words 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

When is it sensible to use deport instead of banish?

The synonyms deport and banish are sometimes interchangeable, but 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 would exile be a good substitute for banish?

Although the words exile and banish have much in common, exile may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country.

a writer who exiled himself for political reasons

In what contexts can transport take the place of banish?

In some situations, the words transport and banish are roughly equivalent. 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 banish Their garage in Santa Rosa became exclusively a home for Campau’s tape collection, the cars banished to the driveway. Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025 The director also brought out Lorraine's rosemary beads, a signature of the character to help banish dark spirits. EW.com, 2 Sep. 2025 Certain Cleaning Supplies Often, cleaning supplies may be banished under the sink, and for the most part, Trosclair says this is just fine. Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 2 Sep. 2025 Extensive control measures, directed against the rats as well as their fleas, have essentially banished the plague from Europe, but there are still many regions of the world where the disease occurs. Matthew Binnicker, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for banish
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banish
Verb
  • South America is buzzing with debates over whether Maduro should be exiled or imprisoned.
    Kristina Foltz, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Everything used to be built around England getting over the line, and the skipper was happy to exile any player who might burst the bubble.
    Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Sports piracy has become so widespread that even professional athletes, like Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James (who was spotted using Streameast in May 2024) and Seattle Seahawks' Tariq Woolen, have been outed as users.
    Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The star linebacker then made a spectacle of his final preseason outing with the team.
    Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • Worthy certainly was a significant part of the game-plan, and then his significance in the game was relegated to one series.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025
  • This summer will have been a baptism of fire for Underwood, too, jumping from the insulated confines of academy football into the bearpit of a window that will go some way to deciding whether Leeds are relegated or not.
    Beren Cross, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The actor denied the allegations, and the case was later dismissed, per The Hollywood Reporter.
    Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Those who dismissed intersectionality saw such policies as little more than allowing the disadvantaged to commit crimes without consequences to make up for past inequities, afflicting crime victims from the same disadvantaged communities.
    John Scott Lewinski, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • According to Reuters, the Afghans were deported.
    Chris Boccia, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2025
  • In the past, the federal agency lacked the resources to pick up those people upon their release to deport them.
    Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Booker, of course, didn’t get that opportunity in the opener after Carter was ejected before the first play for spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
    Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Sep. 2025
  • After the opening kickoff against the Cowboys, a flag was thrown by the officials and Carter was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct just six seconds into the new season.
    Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Perhaps she is not actually evicted.
    David Wysong, Cincinnati Enquirer, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Reilly failed to finish in her allotted 1 minute and 30 seconds and was immediately evicted.
    Marc Berman, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Senegal’s Lamine Camara is the type of midfielder that would help many a Champions League-chasing team.
    The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025
  • Five teams are chasing a postseason berth.
    Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Banish.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banish. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

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