Other forms: ostracised
To ostracise is to shut somebody out of a group entirely. Ostracise a colleague.
In Athens it meant a vote to banish somebody for ten years, written on pieces of pottery. To ostracise is now done informally and is no less effective for it.
1verbostraciseTo shut somebody out of a group entirely.
“He was ostracised for a remark nobody could later quote.”
ostracise is an action.
Also accepted in games: ostracize
Ancient Greek
ὀστρακίζω — to banish from a city by ostracism
English
ostracize
English, today
ostracise
Built from
ostracize comes from Ancient Greek ὀστρακίζω (“to banish from a city by ostracism”), from ὄστρᾰκον (“earthenware vessel; fragment of such a vessel, potsherd”) (from the fact that when voting was held to decide whether to banish people, their names were inscribed on potsherds) + -ῐ́ζω). The English word is cognate with French ostraciser.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA