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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Woody Brown, a nonverbal author himself, highlights stories that are too often banished to the margins.—
Hamilton Cain,
Time,
3 Mar. 2026
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Faithfuls also have chances to banish traitors by voting them out of the castle during a nightly event called the roundtable.—
Tiney Ricciardi,
Denver Post,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The protesters included secular left-wingers and nationalists as well as Islamists, but Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a fundamentalist cleric at that time exiled in France, emerged as the movement's undisputed figurehead.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Most of them have been jailed or exiled or arrested or even killed.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The outcome sets the stage for an April hearing in which attorneys for Tyler Robinson will make their case to exclude TV cameras, microphones and photographers from the courtroom.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Mar. 2026
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The March 24 debate will feature six candidates but exclude every Democrat of color.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Her 13-year-old son goes to the same high school as two of the suspects, who are in the process of being expelled.—
Eléonore Hughes,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
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Instead, much of Iraq rose up to expel US ground forces, and the war dragged on for eight years.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Rather than be ostracized for a blocking gaffe in the 2023 team’s overtime loss in the Super Bowl, Burford worked toward becoming a swing tackle, then replaced Bartch at left guard.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2026
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Decent citizens must ostracize those among them who toy with Hitlerism.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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How do key components of matter — gas, dust, and heavy elements — flow into, get transported throughout, and ejected out of galaxies over time?—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Mar. 2026
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Three people were ejected from the Nissan, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said at the scene.—
Joe Brandt,
CBS News,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In its Thursday decision dismissing the case, the military's top legal officers said the charges against the soldiers were being dropped because the video did not show abuse violent enough to merit a criminal conviction and had been improperly leaked to the media.—
JULIA FRANKEL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
13 Mar. 2026
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Room for Disagreement Azizi has dismissed concerns that his close relationships with regional leaders could pave the way for government interference.—
Vivianne Wandera,
semafor.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Excommunicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excommunicate. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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