Ostracises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To purposefully isolate an individual from a community or social circle
2. Deliberately excludes someone from participation in a community or social setting
3. Intentionally keeps a person separate from a collective or social circle

Etymology: "Ostracises" is the third-person singular present form of "ostracise", the British spelling of "ostracize". The verb itself comes from "ostracism", which is the older and more familiar word. Its roots lie in ancient Greece, where "ostrakon" meant a potsherd, a broken piece of pottery, and the word for the practice of voting a citizen out of Athens took its name from the shards on which voters scratched their choices. Greek "ostrakizein" meant to banish someone through that vote. The English form arrived through modern scholarly and political usage, borrowing the Greek root and attaching the familiar verb ending, so the word now describes social exclusion rather than a formal civic banishment. The meaning has narrowed and softened over time: the Athenian procedure was a legal, collective decision, while the English verb usually describes informal shunning by a group.

Synonyms: excludes, shuns

Antonyms: includes, embraces