Boycotted

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of intentionally abstaining from participation or support for a person, group, or event as a means of protest or expression of disagreement
2. A deliberate decision to not engage with or support someone or something, often to signal disapproval or protest
3. The action of refusing to take part in, endorse, or promote an individual, group, or event as a form of dissent or objection

Etymology: Captain Charles Boycott was an English land agent in Ireland who managed estates for absentee landlords. In 1880, as tenants pressed for lower rents and fairer terms, the Irish Land League urged the local community to shun him: shopkeepers refused to serve him, workers left his fields, and neighbours cut off contact entirely. The campaign was so effective that the name of one man became a verb for organised social and economic exclusion. "Boycotted" is simply the past tense of that verb, describing a person, group or business that has already been subjected to such a campaign or has itself withdrawn support as a protest. The verb was formed from Boycott's surname, so it is a rare case where an ordinary English verb grew directly out of a single individual's misfortune.

Synonyms: shunned, excluded, avoided

Antonyms: supported, endorsed, promoted