Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,761,017,558 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

ostracism

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.02 sec.
os·tra·cism  (str-szm)
n.
1.
a. The act of banishing or excluding.
b. Banishment or exclusion from a group; disgrace.
2. In Athens and other cities of ancient Greece, the temporary banishment by popular vote of a citizen considered dangerous to the state.

[French ostracisme, from Greek ostrakismos, from ostrakizein, to ostracize; see ostracize.]

ostracism
1. a casting out from social or political society.
2. the ancient Athenian process of temporary banishment by popular vote, using potsherds or tiles for ballots.
See also: Banishment
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.ostracism - 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"
exclusion - the state of being excluded
2.ostracism - the act of excluding someone from society by general consent
expulsion, riddance, ejection, exclusion - the act of forcing out someone or something; "the ejection of troublemakers by the police"; "the child's expulsion from school"

ostracism
noun exclusion, boycott, isolation, exile, rejection, expulsion, avoidance, cold-shouldering, renunciation, banishment In those days unmarried mothers suffered social ostracism.
welcome, approval, admission, reception, acceptance, inclusion
Translations
ostracism [ˈɒstrəsɪzəm] Nostracismo m
ostracism [ˈɒstrəsɪzəm] nostracisme m
to risk social ostracism → risquer l'ostracisme social
ostracism
nÄchtung f
ostracism [ˈɒstrəsɪzm] n (frm) → ostracismo
ostracism [ˈɒstrəsɪzm] n (frm) → ostracismo


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
After having been sentenced to a prepetual ostracism from the esteem and confidence, and honors and emoluments of his country, he will still be liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law.
For public envy, is as an ostracism, that eclipseth men, when they grow too great.
He lounged along, smoking a large cigar, keen-eyed and observant, laying up for himself a store of impressions, unconsciously irritated at every step by a sense of ostracism, of being in some indefinable manner without kinship and wholly apart from this world, in which it seemed natural now that he should find some place.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.