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
His brother, a defrocked Catholic priest with a Cessna Skyhawk aircraft and a Lincoln Continental, was excommunicated for marrying his secretary.
—
Jasper Craven, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Shapiro, however, doesn’t have the power to excommunicate Owens.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Dec. 2025
The student movement should have immediately excommunicated him.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2025
The Harmses had been excommunicated from the church, and a current and a former church leader obtained protection orders, Bleazard said.
—Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excommunicate
Jasper Craven, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Shapiro, however, doesn’t have the power to excommunicate Owens.
—Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 Dec. 2025
The student movement should have immediately excommunicated him.
—Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 7 Oct. 2025
The Harmses had been excommunicated from the church, and a current and a former church leader obtained protection orders, Bleazard said.
—Alex Brizee, Idaho Statesman, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for excommunicate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excommunicate
Verb
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The law banished tests in Spanish and Creole.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
20 Feb. 2026
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Anderson suspected Rausch was a traitor and conspired with Lipinski to gather votes to banish him.—
Bebe Hodges,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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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
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However, the amnesty explicitly excludes those convicted or prosecuted for homicide, drug trafficking, corruption, grave human rights violations, crimes against humanity and war crimes.—
Alessandra Freitas,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
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Whether the amnesty ultimately eases tensions or deepens divisions may depend on how broadly it is applied — and whether excluded prisoners eventually receive relief.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Palestinian citizens of Israel are descendants of those who were not expelled or forced to flee their homes when Israel was established in 1948.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
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Others expel water from their cells to prevent the freeze-thaw cycle from bursting cell walls.—
Alex Kuffner,
The Providence Journal,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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As a result, athletes may be less likely to seek treatment and to come forward with their issues for fear of not wanting to have restrictions on their practice and competition put in place, of being ostracized from their teammates or of losing sponsorship or scholarship opportunities.—
Emily Hemendinger,
The Conversation,
13 Feb. 2026
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Roper, meanwhile, felt ostracized by her bandmates.—
Andy Greene,
VIBE.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Canada’s Tom Wilson and French player Pierre Crinon were ejected for fighting in Canada’s win on Sunday.—
Fernanda Figueroa,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
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The 39-year-old actor was ejected from a Royal Street business after causing a disturbance, according to police.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Marty Singer, attorney for the spouses at the time, dismissed the controversy.—
Alexandra Del Rosario,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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Yesterday, Judge Aran Subramanian dismissed some portions of the suit but allowed other claims to proceed in the DOJ’s efforts to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
19 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excommunicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excommunicate. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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