ostracization

[ os-truh-sahy-zey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of excluding someone from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc., typically by general and often tacit consent:

   Shame and ostracization left a bitter taste in the mouths of any who dared to offer an unpopular opinion.

2. the act of banishing someone from their native country or home territory:

   Her memoir tells a story of exile and ostracization—a disturbed teen kicked out of her home and driven from her small town to wander abroad.

3. (in ancient Greece) the act of banishing a citizen temporarily by popular vote:

   Around 431 b.c., ostracization of the philosopher Anaxagoras was orchestrated for his own protection by his friend, the statesman Pericles.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ostracization¹

First recorded in 1865–70; ostracize ( def ) + -ation ( def )

Example Sentences

Her lawyer said Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz had concocted a "fictional" story involving ostracization, harassment and threatening conduct by the senator.

From BBC

A Republican-dominated congressional committee released on Thursday a scathing report of Harvard’s efforts to combat antisemitism on campus, accusing it of suppressing the findings of its antisemitism advisory group and avoiding implementing its recommendations, even as Jewish students were experiencing “pervasive ostracization” and being harassed.

From New York Times

After decades of wars, diplomatic and economic isolation and ostracization rooted in a combination of politics and antisemitism, Israel in recent years began to make significant progress in normalizing relations with several Arab neighbors.

From Los Angeles Times

I ask gun owners this, respectfully: Which is more uncomfortable — the pain of potential ostracization, or the pain of a nonstop loop of stochastic and targeted terrorism, aided and abetted by an endless supply of handguns and rifles, the latter often equipped these days with 30 bone-shattering rounds per magazine?

From Salon

Reckoning with longstanding stigma and feelings of shame, many fear speaking out could lead to retaliation or further ostracization.

From Seattle Times