Meaning

3 senses

  1. (countable, historical, uncountable)In ancient Athens (and some other cities), the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state.

    Scherbengericht

    остраки́змostrakízm

    остракізмostrakizm

  2. (countable, figuratively, uncountable)Banishment by some general consent.

    the act of excluding someone from society by general consent

  3. (countable, uncountable)Temporary exclusion from a community or society.

    Ächtung, Ausgrenzung

    остраки́змostrakízm, изгна́ниеizgnánije

    остракізмostrakizm, вигнанняvyhnannja

Examples

3 sentences

  1. Cancel culture is a modern form of ostracism.

    Amastan · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  2. Soviet functionaries who didn't toe the party line were at risk of ostracism and imprisonment.

    frpzzd · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

  3. Ostracism was a punishment in ancient Athens.

    rul · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FR · C2Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

8 languages
Українська
By meaning 2
in ancient Greece, the temporary banishment by popular vote:
banishment, exclusion from community:
Русский
By meaning 2
in ancient Greece, the temporary banishment by popular vote:
banishment, exclusion from community:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
in ancient Greece, the temporary banishment by popular vote:
banishment, exclusion from community:

Origin

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός (ostrakismós, “banishment by means of vot

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός (ostrakismós, “banishment by means of voting with pot shards”), from ὀστρακίζω (ostrakízō, “ostracize”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”), from ὄστρακον (óstrakon, “clay pot”).

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: ostracisms
Singularostracism
Pluralostracisms

regular

Synonyms

11 synonyms
ostracizationpetalismshunningavoidanceblackballingblacklistingdiscommendationsilent treatment
Close in meaning
  • the state of being banished or ostracized (excluded from society by general consent):banishmentCoventry

Word family

4 related words
Relatedostracizeostracise
Derivedcyberostracismsemiostracism

Lessons for this word

1 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
ostentatiousosteoarthritisosteopathicosteoporosisostracizeostrichotherA1

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

ostracism — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto