Definitions for: Ostracism


[n] the act of excluding someone from society by general consent
[n] the state of being banished or ostracized (excluded from society by general consent); "the association should get rid of its elderly members--not by euthanasia, of course, but by Coventry"



Webster (1913) Definition: Os"tra*cism, n. [Gr. ?, fr. ? to ostracize. See
Ostracize.]
1. (Gr. Antiq.) Banishment by popular vote, -- a means
adopted at Athens to rid the city of a person whose talent
and influence gave umbrage.

2. Banishment; exclusion; as, social ostracism.

Public envy is as an ostracism, that eclipseth men
when they grow too great. --Bacon.

Sentenced to a perpetual ostracism from the . . .
confidence, and honors, and emoluments of his
country. --A. Hamilton.

Synonyms: banishment, Coventry

See Also: ejection, exclusion, exclusion, expulsion, riddance

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