expel
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to drive or force out or away; discharge or eject.
to expel air from the lungs; to expel an invader from a country.
-
to cut off from membership or relations.
to expel a student from a college.
- Synonyms:
- excommunicate, exile, dismiss, oust
verb
-
to eject or drive out with force
-
to deprive of participation in or membership of a school, club, etc
Other Word Forms
- expellable adjective
- expellee noun
- expeller noun
- reexpel verb (used with object)
- unexpellable adjective
Etymology
Origin of expel
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English expellen, from Latin expellere “to drive out, drive away,” equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + pellere “to push, drive”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Party officials said they had been expelled due to a clear breach of the rules that banned members from belonging to other political parties.
From BBC
Washington expelled Bolivia's ambassador in retaliation, and the envoys were never replaced.
From Barron's
He said that he was expelled from two private boarding schools, Rumsey Hall and Blair Academy, and started experimenting with hard drugs at night in Central Park.
From New York Times
This month, the government introduced legislation that would expel all people who arrive on small boats crossing the Channel without hearing their asylum claims, a position that has been criticized by human rights groups.
From New York Times
The U.S. government has relied on López Obrador’s indifference to expel thousands of migrants and delay the entry of thousands more, condemning them to conditions that often lead to tragedy.
From Washington Post
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
