ostracising
Casting someone out
Ostracising is the British spelling of ostracizing—deliberately excluding someone from a group or community.
The word comes from ancient Athens, where citizens voted to banish dangerous individuals by scratching names on pottery shards (ostraka).
Modern ostracism is social rather than official: The team was ostracising him after the scandal.
The effect is isolation through collective rejection.
Deliberately avoiding someone
- excludingLeaving something out
- banishingForcing permanent departure
- blacklistingFormally marking for rejection
- snubbingPointedly ignoring someone
cold-shouldering · isolating · rejecting · boycotting · spurning · sidelining · marginalising · alienating
Inherited social division
- untouchableExempt from criticism or harm
- excommunicationFormal barring from sacraments
- shunningDeliberately avoiding someone
- exileBanishment from homeland
banishment · outcast · diaspora · persona non grata · honour · shame · taboo · disowning
Social exclusion through coldness
- sideliningRemoving from participation
- excludingLeaving something out
- demotingLowering someone's rank
- reassigningTransferring to different duties
passing over · isolating · mobbing · bullying · whistle-blower · scapegoating · toxic · cliques
Banishment from homeland
- banishmentForced removal from place
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- dissidentsPolitical objectors
blacklisting · McCarthyism · purge · silencing · censorship · cancellation · sanctions · embargo
shunning
Deliberately avoiding someone
- excludingLeaving something out
- banishingForcing permanent departure
- blacklistingFormally marking for rejection
snubbing · cold-shouldering · isolating · rejecting · boycotting · spurning · sidelining · marginalising · alienating · outcast
caste
Inherited social division
- untouchableExempt from criticism or harm
- excommunicationFormal barring from sacraments
- shunningDeliberately avoiding someone
exile · banishment · outcast · diaspora · persona non grata · honour · shame · taboo · disowning · tribal
freezing out
Social exclusion through coldness
- sideliningRemoving from participation
- excludingLeaving something out
- demotingLowering someone's rank
reassigning · passing over · isolating · mobbing · bullying · whistle-blower · scapegoating · toxic · cliques · gaslighting
exile
Banishment from homeland
- banishmentForced removal from place
- deportationLegal expulsion from country
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
dissidents · blacklisting · McCarthyism · purge · silencing · censorship · cancellation · sanctions · embargo · persona non grata
ostracisingincluding
Containing as part
welcoming · accepting · embracing · integrating · admitting
ostracisingbefriending
Becoming close to someone
embracing · supporting · championing · rallying around · standing by
ostracize, ostracism, ostracized, ostracise, ostracizing, ostracizes, ostracised, ostracises