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excommunicate

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excommunicate¹

  • /ˌɛkskəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/ UK
  • /ˌɛkskəˈmjunəkeɪt/ US

Where it comes from

From Ecclesiastical Latin excommunicātus, perfect passive participle of excommunicō (“excommunicate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, ex- + communicate.

verb excommunicates · excommunicating · excommunicated

  1. transitive To officially exclude someone from membership of a church or religious community. “Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It’s absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.” ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain.
  2. figuratively, historical, transitive To exclude from any other group; to banish. Samois includes celebate ^([sic]), heterosexual and bisexual women as well as lesbians, and I feel very strongly that this is the wisest choice. Our community is so fragile that we can't afford to fragment it by excommunicating non-lesbian women.

Similar: disfellowship, takfir

excommunicate²

  • /ˌɛkskəˈmjuːnɪkət/ UK
  • /ˌɛkskəˈmjunəkət/ US

Where it comes from

From Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin excommunicātus, perfect passive participle of excommunicō (“put out of the community”). See -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. Displaced native Old English āmǣnsumian.

adjective

  1. archaic, not comparable Excommunicated. […]the iewes had conſpyred allredy that yff eny man did confeſſe that he was Chriſt / he ſhulde be excommunicat out of the Sinagoge.

excommunicate³

  • /ˌɛkskəˈmjuːnɪkət/ UK
  • /ˌɛkskəˈmjunəkət/ US

Where it comes from

From a substantivation of the above adjective. See -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more.

noun excommunicates

  1. An excommunicated person.

    Similar: excommunicant, excommunicatee

Thesaurus

verb

Similar: disfellowship, takfir

Translations

Every language

verb to officially exclude someone from membership of a church or religious community

Españolexcomulgar
日本語破門
Portuguêsexcomungar
Françaisexcommunier
Deutschexkommunizieren
Italianoscomunicare
Ελληνικάαφορίζω aforízo
Русскийизгоня́ть izgonjátʹ, изгна́ть izgnátʹ, выгоня́ть vygonjátʹ, вы́гнать výgnatʹ, отлуча́ть otlučátʹ, отлучи́ть otlučítʹ
العربيةحَرَمَ ḥarama

verb to exclude from any other group; to banish

Françaisbannir
Deutschbannen, verbannen

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Cite this
MLA

"excommunicate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/excommunicate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

excommunicate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/excommunicate

Chicago

"excommunicate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/excommunicate.

BibTeX
@misc{excommunicate_2026,
  title = {excommunicate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/excommunicate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}