as in to dismiss
to reject by or as if by a vote
he was disappointed to learn that he had been blackballed by the fraternity
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
2
as in banishment
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of blackball
Samuel Moyn, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Rumors persist of prospective members being blackballed for simply asking about membership.
—Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
Photos of Jay-Z hamming it up with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who many see as the face of Kaepernick’s blackball, were off-putting, to put it politely.
—Jonathan Jones, SI.com, 21 Aug. 2019
See All Example Sentences for blackball
Verb
Mearsheimer was gleefully blackballed by academics and commentators for daring to suggest that America had goaded Putin and been drawn into a costly war that harmed our interests.
—Samuel Moyn, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
Rumors persist of prospective members being blackballed for simply asking about membership.
—Tim Corlett, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
Noun
Among the keys to its success, labor groups said, is the Accord’s ability to blackball factories that refuse to remediate safety violations from selling goods to signatory brands.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
Photos of Jay-Z hamming it up with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who many see as the face of Kaepernick’s blackball, were off-putting, to put it politely.
—Jonathan Jones, SI.com, 21 Aug. 2019
See All Example Sentences for blackball
Recent Examples of Synonyms for blackball
Verb
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On Wednesday, in documents obtained by Rolling Stone, a California superior court judge overseeing the lawsuit ruled in favor of Kardashian and the anti-SLAPP motion, effectively dismissing the other Cantu’s lawsuit, though the judge left open the possibility of an appeal.—
Daniel Kreps,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
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This company’s approach to pest control begins with a philosophy that dismisses the business-as-usual assumptions.—
Malana VanTyler,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In an eleventh-hour attempt to politically have their cake and eat it too, Senate Democrats followed their 13th consecutive veto of the GOP’s clean spending bill, which would reopen the government.—
Tiana Lowe Doescher,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
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Governor Gavin Newsom’s veto of Assembly Bill 255 makes stories like Michelle’s almost impossible to repeat within the state’s homelessness system.—
Michele Steeb,
Oc Register,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Neither Father Burke or Sister Irene realize it at the end of the movie, but Valak evades banishment by possessing Frenchie.—
Julie Tremaine,
PEOPLE,
27 Oct. 2025
-
The autocratic czarist regime ruled with an iron hand and suppressed opposition through censorship, banishment, and executions.—
Karl Ove Knausgaard,
New Yorker,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Most of the strikes occur in the summer, killing 20 people each year, according to the NWS.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
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Four people were killed over a four-day period in crashes on Arkansas highways, according to preliminary Arkansas State Police reports.—
Daniel McFadin,
Arkansas Online,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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After the 2025 playoffs are over, there should be a better understanding whether the pros outweighed the cons with the new playoff brackets.—
Cecil Joyce,
Nashville Tennessean,
11 Nov. 2025
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Roosevelt let newspaper editorials hash out the pros and cons of the voyage before making an official announcement, and the leak represented the first time congressmen (and the public) heard about the fleet’s plans to circumnavigate the globe.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Dissenting opinion brings ostracism, loss of work and grants and friendships.—
Sal Rodriguez,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
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But this ostracism has also been felt more widely across Israeli society, including among the large numbers of Israelis who oppose the war.—
Ruth Margalit,
New Yorker,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The world’s diplomats must refuse to seat or recognise Min Aung Hlaing or his representatives at any summit or ministerial meeting.—
Kim Aris,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
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Some of the girls were hired as servants in the homes of higher-status Burghers, though Rustin refused on principle to consider it.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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No is poet Idea Vilariño’s final masterpiece, where poetry becomes both refusal and resilience.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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In the aftermath of her refusal, Davis was jailed for acting in contempt of court and lost her clerk re-election.—
NPR,
NPR,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Blackball.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blackball. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
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