1
as in expulsion
the forced removal from a homeland
the exile of French settlers from Nova Scotia resulted in the birth of the Cajun community in the U.S.
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in refugee
a person forced to emigrate for political reasons
after being overthrown in a coup, the dictator spent the remainder of his life as an exile in a string of less-than-welcoming countries
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to banish
to force to leave a country
with their conquest of the Moors complete, Ferdinand and Isabella next exiled the Jews from Spain
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of exile
Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
Rodríguez, a member of the San Isidro Movement —whose leader, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, remains imprisoned in Cuba— arrived in the United States in 2022 after being forced into exile.
—Maykel Gonzalez, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2025
Anna North, Vox, 23 Mar. 2025
The Garifuna people are descendants of Indigenous Caribbean tribes and enslaved Africans, who were exiled from St. Vincent and the Grenadines by British colonizers and settled largely on the coast of Central America.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exile
Noun
Similarly, Chief Standing Bear poignantly compared Native American displacement to the Israelites’ exile.
—Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
Rodríguez, a member of the San Isidro Movement —whose leader, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, remains imprisoned in Cuba— arrived in the United States in 2022 after being forced into exile.
—Maykel Gonzalez, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2025
Verb
Hammie also screams at people on car trips and sometimes has to be exiled to the dashboard.
—Anna North, Vox, 23 Mar. 2025
The Garifuna people are descendants of Indigenous Caribbean tribes and enslaved Africans, who were exiled from St. Vincent and the Grenadines by British colonizers and settled largely on the coast of Central America.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for exile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exile
Noun
-
To protect themselves from the threat of expulsion, migrants are expected to profess uncompromising loyalty.—
Viet Thanh Nguyễn,
Time,
28 Apr. 2025
-
In subsequent months, students who participated in the demonstrations have faced suspension, expulsion and, for some international students, removal from the country.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Hundreds of Vietnamese refugees from San Diego and Orange counties attended the ceremony, and many were joined by their children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Apr. 2025
-
What might destroy our society is not immigrants or refugees or Palestinians or women seeking abortions or trans people or any of the other assorted others that have been posited as undermining American society.—
Viet Thanh Nguyễn,
Time,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Rather than continuing to banish one another, the four decided to end the game and split the $204,300 cash prize four ways.—
Esther Kang,
People.com,
21 Apr. 2025
-
On his third shift, after chants of LAN-DY had long rained upon the golden-haired forward, Landeskog hooked a Silver Knight and was banished for two minutes.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The company’s stock has jumped 54% since January 17, the strongest return of any company listed on the S&P 500, though the firm has faced criticism over a $30 million contract with ICE on a program to assist the agency in deportations.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
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Louisiana's nine detention centers, eight of which are privately operated, include the only ICE facility in the country directly connected to an airport, thus streamlining mass deportations across the state.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Lindsey Reese,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Does that relegate the 2024 second-round pick to the bench, assuming Williams holds onto his starting role alongside McKinney?—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
30 Apr. 2025
-
If the next generation of cross-border rails is written in Brussels, Shenzhen or Riyadh, the dollar could be relegated to just one more token on someone else’s ledger, accepted out of habit rather than structural necessity.—
Zennon Kapron,
Forbes.com,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The families were disappeared, cut off from their lawyers and loved ones, and rushed to be deported, stripping their parents of the chance to protect their U.S. citizen children.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Apr. 2025
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President Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which lets the president deport noncitizens 14 years or older who are from a country with which the U.S. is at war.—
John Raby,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Every barrel is transported via the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System to the port of Valdez, where it is loaded onto tanker ships.—
Brett Watson,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2025
-
He was arrested and transported to Troop G in Bridgeport where he was charged with violation of protective order, improper use of a registration plate and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Exile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exile. Accessed 7 May. 2025.
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