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ostracize

OSS-truh-size /ˈɒs.trə.saɪz/

verbC1GRESATACT

academicformal

To exclude someone from a society or group by common consent.

Implies a collective, often unspoken decision by a community or social group to completely ignore or expel an individual.

The story behind the word. In ancient Athens, citizens would gather annually to vote on whether any prominent citizen had grown too powerful. They wrote the names of suspects on broken shards of pottery called ostraka. If a person received enough votes, they were banished from the city for ten years.

Word relationships

exclude: Exclude is a general term for keeping someone out, whereas ostracize implies a deliberate, collective social punishment.
shun: Shun is often an individual act of avoidance, while ostracize is a systemic, group-wide exclusion.

welcome: To welcome is to receive someone gladly, whereas ostracize is to actively cast them out.
embrace: To embrace is to accept or support someone enthusiastically, the opposite of cold exclusion.

Commonly confused with

banish: Banish involves an official, legal, or physical expulsion, whereas ostracize is typically social and informal.

Word family

ostracism (noun): The state of being excluded from a society or group.
ostracized (adjective): Excluded or cast out by a group.

Collocations

ostracize from society
socially ostracize
completely ostracized

Example sentences

"After she spoke out against the popular clique, her classmates began to ostracize her, leaving her to eat lunch alone every day." A description of social dynamics in high school.
"The citizens of Athens would annually vote to ostracize any individual they believed threatened the stability of the democratic state." Historical context of ancient Athenian democracy.

Memory hook

Think of an 'ostrich' hiding its head in the sand; when a group decides to ostracize you, they turn away and pretend you do not exist. Ostrich-sized exclusion.

When not to use

Do not use when referring to physical deportation by a legal authority; use banish or exile instead.

Fun facts

The ancient Athenian practice of ostracism was not meant as a punishment for a crime, but rather as a preventative measure to safeguard democracy against potential tyrants.