EXCOMMUNICATED Synonyms: 30 Similar and Opposite Words

excommunicated

verb

past tense of excommunicate

as in banished

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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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 excommunicated Michael Goldade, one of the new bishops the Vatican excommunicated, grew up there. — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2026 In the late 1980s, its ‌founder ⁠Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without the approval of Pope John Paul II, leading those involved to be excommunicated. — Reuters, NBC news, 5 July 2026 Wednesday's ceremony came 38 years to the day after Lefebvre was excommunicated alongside those four bishops — including Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, who led Wednesday's consecrations and was again excommunicated Thursday. — Noah Labelle, NPR, 2 July 2026 Six bishops and hundreds of priests belonging to the society have been excommunicated. — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 2 July 2026 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 Vatican said on July 2 that priests and lay Catholics who are part of a breakaway right-wing Catholic group that ordained bishops without Pope Leo's approval were in schism with the wider Church and now excommunicated. — Joshua McElwee, USA Today, 2 July 2026 Many of those on the list were members of Table Rock Church, which had excommunicated the couple. — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 23 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for excommunicated

Verb

Ransoms were paid, with Carlos taking much of the $50 million himself, leading him to be banished from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

— Air Mail, Air Mail, 1 Aug. 2026
Most of us reach for breezy linen pants and flowy maxi dresses during summer, leaving our denim banished to the back of the closet.

— Shea Simmons, PEOPLE, 26 July 2026

Definition of banished

Verb

The novel, reissued this fall, by McNally Editions, takes the form of a memoir by a German Jewish intellectual historian, exiled to New York.

— David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
The Greek monarchy was abolished in 1973, and Crown Prince Pavlos’ parents, King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie, were exiled from the country, only returning in 2013.

— Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of exiled

Verb

Open models will be excluded from the voluntary pre-release review, at least for now.

— Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026
Research found that more than 70% of workers report being socially excluded at work in six months, while 48% report harassment or bullying, and those are big numbers.

— Jason Walker PsyD, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of excluded

Verb

Bernadette tells Stuart and Kripke that she was expelled from the guild for using her powers during the strike to bring her neighbor’s son’s adorable rescue dog Chocolate Chip back to life after he was hit by several cars.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
Those shells were likely expelled during turbulent bouts of mass loss shortly before the explosion, giving astronomers an unusually detailed view of the star's final stages.

— Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of expelled

Verb

Some are more comfortable than others with staging the show, like high schoolers Bones and Megan, best friends who have grounded heads on their shoulders about how they’ve been ostracized by their broader communities.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 30 July 2026
Three years later, censured by his Senate colleagues, ostracized by his party, and ignored by the press, McCarthy drank himself to death, a broken man at the age of 48.

— Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 10 July 2026

Definition of ostracized

Verb

Critics dismissed the elections, which were held in December and January, as a sham designed to consolidate the military’s grip on power while ostensibly restoring civilian rule.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026
Comey’s lawyers are pressing to have the case dismissed, accusing the department of misleading judges, submitting documents containing false statements and withholding key facts.

— Alanna Durkin Richer, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026

Definition of dismissed

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“Excommunicated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excommunicated. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of excommunicated

verb

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