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 Vatican decree targeted bishops and faithful In a decree, the Vatican excommunicated the four new bishops and the two existing SSPX bishops who participated in the ceremony. — Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for excommunicate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for excommunicate

Verb

Any doubts over whether that deal would be concluded would have been banished as soon as Riad was taken off.

— Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
Plus a few other wackadoodles banished from labels, serving out their sentences in our nuthouse.

— Jeff Rabhan, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of banish

Verb

Located in Jerusalem, al-Wasiti became, for years, the place to visit, empowering Palestinian artists exiled all over the world to return to a fountain of unity and belonging.

— Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 26 Aug. 2026
This thriller centers on disgraced or damaged agents of Britain’s MI6 intelligence service who have been exiled to a remote Greek island.

— Monitor reviewers, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of exile

Verb

The campaign said state officials intend to recount only the votes cast for Lindell and Demuth and not all the votes cast in the Republican gubernatorial primary, while excluding votes for other candidates in the race.

— Nicholas Lentz, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026
Rutherford argues that taxpayers should not finance elections that exclude eligible voters, particularly in districts where the primary effectively determines the winner.

— Kevin Richardson, Baltimore Sun, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of exclude

Verb

As a result, students who should have been suspended, expelled, or otherwise held accountable for dangerous or disruptive behavior remained in the classroom.

— Cory Turner, NPR, 25 Aug. 2026
Like Castañeda, Ochoa — the boy expelled during Eisenhower’s operation — returned to the United States as a teenager.

— Isa Farfan, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of expel

Verb

While the boys focus on their rodeo careers, Jojo feels ostracized by the more traditional women riders and cowgirls.

— Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
The deliberations come as the Treasury Department on Monday warned countries doing trade with Iran that new secondary sanctions are in the pipeline aimed at ostracizing nations that continue to do business with Tehran.

— Aamer Madhani, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of ostracize

Verb

Plate umpire Alan Porter tossed Vitello and first-base ump Jim Wolf ejected Webb, who was not pitching Friday.

— ABC News, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026
Days later, a former NBA player who has used the WNBA as a vehicle for anti-trans advocacy was ejected from a Chicago Sky game, after engaging in an altercation with team guard Natasha Cloud.

— Odette Yousef, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of eject

Verb

On Wednesday, lawyers for Gomez filed a motion to dismiss the artist from the suit, and said she should have never been dragged into the case in the first place.

— Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026
El-Sayed dismissed a potential fundraising gap in the race, which could occur if donors were pushed towards Rogers or if outside groups like AIPAC intervened on Rogers’ behalf.

— Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of dismiss

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excogitating

excommunicate

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“Excommunicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excommunicate. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of excommunicate

verb

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