OSTRACISM

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ostracism mean? 

• OSTRACISM (noun)
  The noun OSTRACISM has 2 senses:

1. the state of being banished or ostracized (excluded from society by general consent)

2. the act of excluding someone from society by general consent

  Familiarity information: OSTRACISM used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OSTRACISM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of being banished or ostracized (excluded from society by general consent)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

banishment; Coventry; ostracism

Context example:

the association should get rid of its elderly members--not by euthanasia, of course, but by Coventry

Hypernyms ("ostracism" is a kind of...):

exclusion (the state of being excluded)

Derivation:

ostracise (avoid speaking to or dealing with)

ostracise (expel from a community or group)

ostracize (avoid speaking to or dealing with)

ostracize (expel from a community or group)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of excluding someone from society by general consent

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("ostracism" is a kind of...):

ejection; exclusion; expulsion; riddance (the act of forcing out someone or something)

Derivation:

ostracise (avoid speaking to or dealing with)

ostracise (expel from a community or group)

ostracize (avoid speaking to or dealing with)

ostracize (expel from a community or group)