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 Officers contacted the agency, and the woman was deported along with her 5-year-old daughter. Austin Sanders, Austin American Statesman, 5 Feb. 2026 The Danish government also announced last week that non-Danish citizens jailed for a year or more for serious crimes could be deported. Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 4 Feb. 2026 And the Quinnipiac poll found roughly 6 in 10 voters (59%) prefer giving most undocumented immigrants in the United States a pathway to legal status; 34% prefer deporting most undocumented immigrants. Emily Guskin, ABC News, 4 Feb. 2026 On Tuesday, the case returned to the appeals court, as the two sides argued over whether the case was still valid, because many of the people whose rights were possibly violated have since been deported. Sabrina Franza, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for deport
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deport
Verb
  • When Mary won’t give up the baby, she’s disowned by patriarch Whitelaw (Ed Harris) and exiled to New Jersey from her family’s palatial Long Island estate.
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Advertisement But pro-democracy figures have argued that local governance has grown increasingly aligned with the mainland as political dissidents have either been jailed or exiled, organizations have disbanded, and a free press dismantled.
    Chad de Guzman, Time, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The sentencing will be the end of an eventful trial in which Routh represented himself, but was unable to convince the jury to acquit him.
    Kinsey Crowley, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
  • He had been acquitted in a criminal trial in 1995.
    Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 4 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Who got banished on 'The Traitors'?
    Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Imagine banishing stuffed animals from the living room, corralling all the toy cars outside the main bedroom, and finally finding a place for that play kitchen that isn’t your actual kitchen.
    Amelia Mularz, Architectural Digest, 11 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Keough alone could carry the film, embodying the most peculiar mix of lust and off-kilter desire in her baby-blue thigh high boots.
    David Opie, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2026
  • He was pictured carrying a Louis Vuitton box into the restaurant—perhaps a Valentine’s Day gift for Rihanna?
    Kelsey Stewart, Footwear News, 15 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Our family photographs depicted us in beauty, power and wholeness, rejecting every image that attempted to relegate us to a stereotype.
    Anya Sesay, jsonline.com, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Researchers have long assumed the bugs were mostly relegated to South Florida due to their need for particularly warm climates.
    Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The study suggests that the way silk proteins organize mirrors how proteins behave in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 6 Feb. 2026
  • Choose the Right Dryer Settings The settings on your dryer can also impact how your sheets behave during the cycle.
    Anyssa Roberts, The Spruce, 5 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • The tenant association voted to move to evict these women, their decision no less necessary for being sad.
    Michael Powell, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
  • But students are not allowed to evict them.
    Jane Arraf, NPR, 10 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Consumer demand is their, but their spending power is restrained.
    Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 13 Feb. 2026
  • All four were ejected and were joined by coach Charles Lee in the fourth quarter after Lee went on the floor and had to be restrained by Brandon Miller to keep him from really confronting the officials.
    Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 11 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Deport.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deport. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.

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