as in to banish
to not allow (someone) to continue being a member of a group and especially the Roman Catholic church
He was excommunicated from the church for his radical practices.
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Recent Examples of excommunicate
This leads to him being excommunicated from his community while simultaneously becoming feared by the cartels for his ruthless business dealings.
—
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 22 July 2025
Spinoza, who was excommunicated partly for critiquing the historicity of Biblical episodes, including Esther’s, believed that, though a force existed, continuous with nature, which might be called divine, no faith in divine intervention in human life could be trusted.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 19 July 2025
Rupnik had been excommunicated, but that excommunication was lifted by Pope Francis in 2022, outraging advocates for abuse victims.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 8 May 2025
The Catholic Church has issued a warning to its clergy in Washington state: Any priest who complies with a new law requiring the reporting of child abuse confessions to authorities will be excommunicated.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for excommunicate
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 22 July 2025
Spinoza, who was excommunicated partly for critiquing the historicity of Biblical episodes, including Esther’s, believed that, though a force existed, continuous with nature, which might be called divine, no faith in divine intervention in human life could be trusted.
—Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 19 July 2025
Rupnik had been excommunicated, but that excommunication was lifted by Pope Francis in 2022, outraging advocates for abuse victims.
—Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 8 May 2025
The Catholic Church has issued a warning to its clergy in Washington state: Any priest who complies with a new law requiring the reporting of child abuse confessions to authorities will be excommunicated.
—James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for excommunicate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excommunicate
Verb
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Or like in 1985, when Microsoft banished the idea of a spreadsheet as paper that required an accountant to calculate every value by hand.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
31 Jan. 2026
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On Christmas Day, the sisters joined King Charles and other family members for church at Sandringham, while their parents were banished from the gathering.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Nicaraguan opposition figures, many now exiled, remember Dogu as an accessible diplomat.—
Yamlek Mojica Loaisiga,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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He was detained by British authorities, imprisoned at the Atlit camp and exiled to Cyprus for nearly two years.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Delcy Rodríguez said Friday that the amnesty would apply to cases from 1999 to the present, but would exclude those prosecuted for homicide, drug trafficking, corruption and human rights violations.—
Anabella González,
CNN Money,
31 Jan. 2026
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Garnett is also set to rule on a defense request to exclude evidence seized from Mangione’s backpack when he was apprehended in Altoona, Pennsylvania.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Ramzi Bashour’s feature debut follows a teenager from Indiana who takes a road trip to see the American West with his Lebanese immigrant mother after being expelled from high school.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
1 Feb. 2026
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Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As a consolation, Bradley invites Linda on a trip to Bangkok to discuss the company’s merger plans, but she’s immediately ostracized on the private plane, where the men gather around a laptop to mock her Survivor audition tape.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
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The latter denies it, but his behavior responds to the fear of being ostracized if any suspicions were to arise.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The announcement came as the British government prepared legislation to eject Mandelson from the House of Lords and remove the noble title, Lord Mandelson, that came with his seat in the chamber.—
Jill Lawless,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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That was the game that saw Perry ejected just a few minutes in, followed by him having to make the long walk from the rink to the dressing room at the Cotton Bowl, spawning a million memes in the process.—
Sean McIndoe,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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After days of deliberations, the House justice committee voted to dismiss the impeachment complaints filed by left-wing activists and a lawyer against Marcos.—
JIM GOMEZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
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Saab denied the allegations and appealed to have the charges dismissed on grounds of diplomatic immunity.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excommunicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excommunicate. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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