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ostracism

UK/ˈɒstɹəsɪz(ə)m/US/ˈɒs trəˌsɪz əm/
nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,505 of 15,258leans written

Ostracism is being deliberately excluded by everybody. Social ostracism, face ostracism, ostracism from the group.

The Athenian original was a formal vote in which citizens wrote a name on a pot shard and the man named was banished for ten years without any charge being made. That is where the word comes from, and the shards survive.

Definitions of ostracism

  1. 1nounostracismBeing deliberately excluded by everybody.C1

    “After reporting the bullying, she faced ostracism from the rest of the class.”

ostracism is an exclusion.

Where it comes from

Greek ostrakismos comes from ostrakon, a pot shard, from the shards Athenians wrote names on.

  1. Ancient Greek

    ὀστρακισμός — banishment by means of voting with pot shards

  2. English, today

    ostracism

Built from

  • ὀστρακίζω · Ancient Greek — ostracize
  • -ισμός · Ancient Greek — -ism
  • ὄστρακον · Ancient Greek — clay pot

Ancient Greek ὀστρακισμός (“banishment by means of voting with pot shards”), from ὀστρακίζω (“ostracize”) + -ισμός (“-ism”), from ὄστρακον (“clay pot”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

ostracism in the wild

  • The word ostracism continues to be used for various forms of shunning.

    Ostracism

  • A boycott is an organized ostracism as a means of protest.

    Boycott (disambiguation)

  • The word "ostracism" is also commonly used to denote a process of social exclusion (in Ancient Greece, ostracism was a form of temporary banishment following people's vote).

    Social rejection

  • Petalism, was an ancient Syracusan variant of ancient Athens's ostracism, wherein a citizen was temporarily removed from the city and public life.

    Petalism

  • The practice may be motivated by positive interest in group solidarity or by negative impulses such as fear of political repercussion or social ostracism.

    Conspiracy of silence (expression)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.