excommunicating

verb

present participle of excommunicate
as in banishing
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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 excommunicating 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for excommunicating
  1. banishing
  2. exiling
  3. excluding
  4. ejecting
  5. ostracizing
  6. expelling
  7. dismissing
Verb
  • But being intellectually skeptical of something is not the same as banishing it from one’s existence.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 29 June 2026
  • Between the trauma his father inflicted on him, banishing him, calling him weak, giving him a scar and pitting him against his sister — along with his mother being taken — Zuko gives into his darker impulses.
    — Skyler Trepel, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026
Definition of banishing
Verb
  • The anti-Zionist project of ending Israel’s existence as a Jewish state implies killing, subjugating, or re-exiling more than half of the world’s Jewish population.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Ruthlessly exiling those players sent a clear message about the importance of squad harmony, but arguably handed the leverage in negotiations to buying clubs, driving down their prices and delaying their departures.
    — James McNicholas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of exiling
Verb
  • If they were imported at the CM1e’s Chinese market price of $39,000, tariffs would drive the cost up to nearly $89,000, excluding the cost of Waymo’s autonomous driving hardware that likely exceeds $10,000.
    — Alan Ohnsman, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The labor force participation rate, which influences the unemployment, is something to watch after reaching a 50-year low in June (excluding the Covid pandemic era).
    — Zev Fima,Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of excluding
Verb
  • In 2023, a Marine Corps pilot died after ejecting from his jet near the base.
    — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 31 July 2026
  • Based on witness statements, a jet ski allegedly struck a wake, ejecting the operator into the water, according to DEEP officials.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 11 July 2026
Definition of ejecting
Verb
  • The Vanity Fair article was published shortly after, further ostracizing Adams from her former friends and causing the remaining Eternal Values members to become even more insular.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2026
  • While going on a spiel about the pitfalls of ostracizing family members for voting MAGA, the TV personality pivoted to his personal experience.
    — Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 21 Nov. 2025
Definition of ostracizing
Verb
  • Despite fierce internal resistance, Kinnock ended up expelling hundreds of Militant members.
    — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
  • Senate Bill 123 prohibits schools from expelling students solely because of excessive absences or truancy.
    — Christopher Harris, CBS News, 29 June 2026
Definition of expelling
Verb
  • After dismissing Cora and his staff, the Red Sox have surged back into playoff contention with the trade deadline looming.
    — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • De Vries barely looked at it, dismissing the message as spam or phishing without reading past the first few lines.
    — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 31 July 2026
Definition of dismissing

Browse Nearby Words

excommunicates
excommunicating
excommunication
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Excommunicating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/excommunicating. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on excommunicating

Nglish: Translation of excommunicating for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of colloquial

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

'Sneaked' or 'Snuck': Which is correct?

Why does English have so many silent letters?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

How long is a jiffy?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All