ostracize: Meaning and Definition of

os•tra•cize

Pronunciation: (os'tru-sīz"), [key]
— -cized, -ciz•ing.
  1. to exclude, by general consent, from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc.: His friends ostracized him after his father's arrest.
  2. to banish (a person) from his or her native country; expatriate.
  3. (in ancient Greece) to banish (a citizen) temporarily by popular vote.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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