EXCOMMUNICATE Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

excommunicate

verb

Definition of excommunicate

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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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 excommunicate In a decree, the Vatican excommunicated the four new bishops and the two bishops who participated in the ceremony. — ABC News, 2 July 2026 The July 2 decree said the two bishops leading the unauthorized ordination, held in Switzerland on July 1, had been excommunicated, along with the four priests who had become new bishops, which was widely expected. — Joshua McElwee, USA Today, 2 July 2026 The Vatican responded by excommunicating Lefebvre and the newly ordained bishops, though those excommunications were lifted in 2009 as part of an effort to restore relations. — Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 30 June 2026 Who knows whether fellow Big 12 schools will actually follow through on their thus-far anonymous threats to forfeit games if Tech suits up Sorsby or if there will be attempts to excommunicate Tech from the conference? — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 11 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for excommunicate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for excommunicate

Verb

Mary appears to have a form of treatment-resistant schizophrenia, until chemotherapy, following a diagnosis of lymphoma, banishes her psychiatric symptoms.

— Julia M. Klein, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Catlett was banished from the United States for what her art had to say.

— Chadd Scott, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

Definition of banish

Verb

The reality star, actress, and comedian hasn't been exiled from late night altogether, however.

— Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 1 July 2026
The producers essentially did as much once both were exiled from Casa Amor, and the two made the mutual decision to couple up onscreen.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 1 July 2026

Definition of exile

Verb

More than 84% of dogs in the study showed at least mild signs of fear and anxiety in everyday situations, excluding learned fears related to grooming activities like nail trimming and bathing.

— Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026
Nordic combined—the only Winter Olympics discipline to exclude women entirely—has been removed from the program.

— Michelle Bruton, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Definition of exclude

Verb

Using a heat pump, the extensively insulated magnet system expels heat to allow the coils to power up at temperatures as low as 77 kelvin, or -321 degrees Fahrenheit.

— Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 9 July 2026
The criticism prompted Riyadh to expel Canada’s ambassador, suspend new trade and investment and recall thousands of Saudi students.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026

Definition of expel

Verb

At the same time, sports stars such as the former tennis champion Martina Navratilova—a lesbian who is a longtime LGBTQ-rights campaigner—have been ostracized after speaking in favor of restricting the women’s category to biological females.

— Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 1 July 2026
Their rivals were a candid, impudent pair, the schoolgirlish Shakira and a throaty American bottle-service girl named Toni, both incapable of conniving their way into romance, prone to heartbreak, and swiftly ostracized for their overt judgment of other islanders.

— Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026

Definition of ostracize

Verb

Hull said the bullet had not been fired and was ejected from an officer’s rifle and that the other people interviewed had been cleared by investigators.

— Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 11 July 2026
Giants manager Tony Vitello came out to argue the call and was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barksdale, the second ejection this season for the first-year skipper.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026

Definition of eject

Verb

That suit was dismissed after a judge ruled that Lively’s accusations were protected by litigation privilege.

— Jack Dunn, Variety, 9 July 2026
News outlets uncovered years-old comments on Reddit that appeared to endorse political violence, dismiss rape in the military, criticize rural Americans and use anti-gay slurs.

— Kimberlee Kruesi, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

Definition of dismiss

Browse Nearby Words

excogitating

excommunicate

excommunicated

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“Excommunicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excommunicate. Accessed 14 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of excommunicate

verb

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