Ostracise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To deliberately exclude someone from a group or society as a form of rejection
2. To banish or isolate an individual from participation in social or community activities
3. To purposefully shun or expel a person, preventing their involvement or acceptance in a collective

Etymology: Ancient Athens had a practice in which citizens voted, using pottery shards called "ostraka," to banish a fellow citizen for ten years without any crime being proven. The name comes from "ostrakon," the Greek word for a broken piece of pottery, which voters scratched with the name of the man they wanted removed. The word "ostracise" is a modern formation: it was built from that Greek root with the English suffix "-ise," and it describes the Athenian custom by analogy rather than being a term the Athenians themselves used. The ostracism itself was a political tool. Anyone who collected enough votes was sent away from the city for a decade, but he kept his property and his citizenship, and the process was meant to prevent any one person from becoming a tyrant. The procedure had a precise, legal character, which is why the English word stayed close to a formal exclusion rather than a casual snub.

Synonyms: exclude, shun, banish, isolate

Antonyms: include, embrace