banish

verb ban·ish \ˈba-nish\

: to force (someone) to leave a country as punishment

: to send (someone or something) away

: to cause (something) to go away : to get rid of (something)

Full Definition of BANISH

transitive verb

: to require by authority to leave a country

: to drive out or remove from a home or place of usual resort or continuance

: to clear away : dispel <his discovery banishes anxiety — Stringfellow Barr>

— ban·ish·er noun

— ban·ish·ment \-nish-mənt\ noun

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Origin of BANISH

Middle English, from Anglo-French baniss-, stem of banir, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German bannan to command — more at ban

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to BANISH

Synonyms: deport, displace, exile, expatriate, relegate, transport

Synonym Discussion of BANISH

banish, exile, deport, transport mean to remove by authority from a state or country. banish implies compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own <banished for seditious activities>. exile may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country <a writer who exiled himself for political reasons>. deport implies sending out of the country an alien who has illegally entered or whose presence is judged inimical to the public welfare <illegal aliens will be deported>. transport implies sending a convicted criminal to an overseas penal colony <a convict who was transported to Australia>.