banish

verb

ban·​ish ˈba-nish How to pronounce banish (audio)
banished; banishing; banishes

transitive verb

1
: to require by authority to leave a country
a dictator who banishes anyone who opposes him
2
: to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance
He was banished from court.
banishing her from the sport
The reporters were banished to another room.
3
: to clear away : dispel
his discovery banishes anxietyStringfellow Barr
banisher noun
banishment noun
Choose the Right Synonym for banish

banish, exile, deport, transport mean to remove by authority from a state or country.

banish implies compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own.

banished for seditious activities

exile may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country.

a writer who exiled himself for political reasons

deport implies sending out of the country an alien who has illegally entered or whose presence is judged inimical to the public welfare.

illegal aliens will be deported

transport implies sending a convicted criminal to an overseas penal colony.

a convict who was transported to Australia

Examples of banish in a Sentence

He was banished for life. The dictator banished anyone who opposed him.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The relative stability of this period led many European countries to reduce their defense spending, assuming that war had been banished from the continent for good. Norbert Röttgen, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2024 The Kids' Table For some children, being banished to the kids' table is a pout-worthy punishment, but for other young’uns, the kids' table is the ultimate time to reconnect with cousins, siblings, and other young guests without constant parental supervision. Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 21 Nov. 2024 In the end, the individual whom Standard Oil had banished to the invisible position of Vice President became quite the thorn for the oil company. John Tamny, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024 From banishing Dwight to Tulsa to ousting Chickie from the top spot, New York’s rules have broken down. Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 17 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for banish 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English banysshen "to condemn by proclamation to leave a country, exile, outlaw, expel, drive away," borrowed from Anglo-French baniss-, stem of banir "to proclaim, (of a king or noble) summon by a call to arms, condemn by proclamation to leave a country, exclude" (also continental Old French), going back to a Gallo-Romance adaptation of Old Low Franconian *bannjan, verbal derivative of *banna- "summon to arms by a lord" — more at ban entry 2

Note: Compare Medieval Latin bannīre, bandīre "to summon by public authority and compel performance of something" (this sense is already in the seventh-century Lex Ripuaria, the laws of the Ripuarian Franks), "to require by public authority, place under a prohibition, excommunicate." Compare also bandit.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of banish was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near banish

Cite this Entry

“Banish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/banish. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

banish

verb
ban·​ish ˈban-ish How to pronounce banish (audio)
1
: to force to leave a country
2
: to drive away
banish fears
banishment noun

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