as in to criticize
to not allow (someone) to be included in a group; to exclude (someone) from a group
She was ostracized by the scientific community for many years because of her radical political beliefs. The other girls ostracized her because of the way she dressed.
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Recent Examples of ostracize
Those with low self-esteem were more likely to use silence as a defensive response to criticism or rejection and were more likely to report feeling ostracized more frequently themselves.
—
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Dell said the real challenge is how quickly students who deviate from their peers’ politics can be ostracized.
—Hanna Kang, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025
Judy was sort of a nonentity in these films until Annabelle Comes Home, where she was played by Mckenna Grace and given the character development of being ostracized by her classmates over her possible-grifter parents.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Part of the presentation focused on helping people overcome their fear of being ostracized for having plants seen as too wild.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ostracize
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2025
Dell said the real challenge is how quickly students who deviate from their peers’ politics can be ostracized.
—Hanna Kang, Oc Register, 13 Sep. 2025
Judy was sort of a nonentity in these films until Annabelle Comes Home, where she was played by Mckenna Grace and given the character development of being ostracized by her classmates over her possible-grifter parents.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Part of the presentation focused on helping people overcome their fear of being ostracized for having plants seen as too wild.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ostracize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostracize
Verb
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Local and state officials criticized the immigration operation in the area Friday.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
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Leipold said after a long pause, referencing fines for criticizing officiating.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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As many as a third of LGBTQ+ people who were arrested were denounced, that is reported to the Nazis, by their friends and family.—
Kate Sosin,
Them.,
31 Oct. 2025
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The policy has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations and international law experts, who have denounced the attacks as extrajudicial killings.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In October alone, shoppers were attacked in a supermarket, a Spanish tourist was scratched by a cub at a heritage site, and a trail runner was forced to wrestle a bear in the woods before sprinting to safety.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles into Israel in response and attacked the Middle East's largest American military base in Qatar.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ostracize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostracize. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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