Ostracism
/ˈɑːstrəsɪzəm/noun
The act of intentionally avoiding or ignoring someone by a group.
The sudden ostracism by her friends left her feeling lonely and confused.
Often appears as...
- experience ostracism
- social ostracism
noun
A method used in ancient Greece for temporarily banishing a citizen by popular vote.
In Athenian democracy, ostracism was often used to expel potential threats to the state.
Often appears as...
- practice of ostracism
- athenian ostracism
noun
The act of intentionally avoiding or ignoring someone by a group.
The sudden ostracism by her friends left her feeling lonely and confused.
Often appears as...
- experience ostracism
- social ostracism
noun
A method used in ancient Greece for temporarily banishing a citizen by popular vote.
In Athenian democracy, ostracism was often used to expel potential threats to the state.
Often appears as...
- practice of ostracism
- athenian ostracism
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Emotional Impact
Using 'ostracism' can convey a strong sense of rejection and hurt feelings.
After the argument, she faced complete ostracism from the group.
Pro Tip 2/3Group Dynamics
'Ostracism' often implies a collective decision by a social circle to exclude someone.
He didn't know why, but the ostracism at work was very clear.
Pro Tip 3/3Not Physical
Ostracism is emotional or social, not a physical action of moving someone away.
Although they sat together, the social ostracism was palpable.
Compare with
alienatebanishexclusionexpulsionisolatormarginalizationneglectrejectionshun
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Quote examples
Robert Greene
English Playwright
Smooth functioning of social life has always depended on the recognition of certain basic limits to behavior. We cannot simply say or do anything we wish, or offend people, without paying consequences - isolation, ostracism, etc.
Quote examples
Lauren Willig
American Author
Iris Johansen's lovers weathered the sack of city states and the vagaries of the French Revolution; Judith McNaught's heroines endured amnesia, social ostracism and misunderstandings so big they deserved their own ZIP code.
Quote examples
Alice Foote MacDougall
American Chef
Poverty is relative, and the lack of food and of the necessities of life is not necessarily a hardship. Spiritual and social ostracism, the invasion of your privacy, are what constitute the pain of poverty.
Quote examples
Robert Green Ingersoll
American Lawyer
You cannot change the conclusion of the brain by torture, nor by social ostracism. But I will tell you what you can do by these and what you have done. You can make hypocrites by the million.
Quote examples
George Eliot
British Author
You should read history and look at ostracism, persecution, martyrdom, and that kind of thing. They always happen to the best men, you know.
Quote examples
Derek Jarman
British Director
Pain can be alleviated by morphine but the pain of social ostracism cannot be taken away.
Quote examples
Wes Craven
American Director
I've experienced a great deal of, you know, ostracism from the making of films.
Quote examples
Helen Fisher
American Scientist
Throughout evolution, ostracism was death indeed.
Quote examples
Robert Greene
English Playwright
Smooth functioning of social life has always depended on the recognition of certain basic limits to behavior. We cannot simply say or do anything we wish, or offend people, without paying consequences - isolation, ostracism, etc.
Quote examples
Lauren Willig
American Author
Iris Johansen's lovers weathered the sack of city states and the vagaries of the French Revolution; Judith McNaught's heroines endured amnesia, social ostracism and misunderstandings so big they deserved their own ZIP code.
Quote examples
Alice Foote MacDougall
American Chef
Poverty is relative, and the lack of food and of the necessities of life is not necessarily a hardship. Spiritual and social ostracism, the invasion of your privacy, are what constitute the pain of poverty.
Quote examples
Robert Green Ingersoll
American Lawyer
You cannot change the conclusion of the brain by torture, nor by social ostracism. But I will tell you what you can do by these and what you have done. You can make hypocrites by the million.
Quote examples
George Eliot
British Author
You should read history and look at ostracism, persecution, martyrdom, and that kind of thing. They always happen to the best men, you know.
Quote examples
Derek Jarman
British Director
Pain can be alleviated by morphine but the pain of social ostracism cannot be taken away.
Quote examples
Wes Craven
American Director
I've experienced a great deal of, you know, ostracism from the making of films.
Quote examples
Helen Fisher
American Scientist
Throughout evolution, ostracism was death indeed.
Example 1 of 8
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