OSTRACIZED Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

ostracized

verb

past tense of ostracize

as in criticized

to not allow (someone) to be included in a group; to exclude (someone) from a group She was ostracized by the scientific community for many years because of her radical political beliefs. The other girls ostracized her because of the way she dressed.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ostracized After, she was ostracized by her own community and lived the rest of her life isolated in a shack in the woods. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026 While the boys focus on their rodeo careers, Jojo feels ostracized by the more traditional women riders and cowgirls. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026 Throwing a pupil to the media risks being ostracized from the inner circles. — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026 Some are more comfortable than others with staging the show, like high schoolers Bones and Megan, best friends who have grounded heads on their shoulders about how they’ve been ostracized by their broader communities. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 30 July 2026 Three years later, censured by his Senate colleagues, ostracized by his party, and ignored by the press, McCarthy drank himself to death, a broken man at the age of 48. — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 10 July 2026 Carlos and Smith were ostracized for their actions for decades. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026 At the same time, sports stars such as the former tennis champion Martina Navratilova—a lesbian who is a longtime LGBTQ-rights campaigner—have been ostracized after speaking in favor of restricting the women’s category to biological females. — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 1 July 2026 Their rivals were a candid, impudent pair, the schoolgirlish Shakira and a throaty American bottle-service girl named Toni, both incapable of conniving their way into romance, prone to heartbreak, and swiftly ostracized for their overt judgment of other islanders. — Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ostracized

Verb

The move came days after Stephens publicly criticized EMCC and Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference leadership over changes to the league’s football schedule and playoff format.

— Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also defended the decision to increase bond purchases earlier last month, after investor Stanley Druckenmiller criticized the move.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of criticized

Verb

For example, ExploitGym, a cybersecurity benchmark that was at the center of the July incident in which OpenAI’s models went rogue and attacked the company Hugging Face, was created in 2026.

— Emily Forlini, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
In the wake of Thursday’s ruling, a chorus of Missouri Republicans have attacked the court over its decision.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of attacked

Verb

During the news conference, Sheinbaum denounced the idea that the music contest was a form of censorship.

— Andrea Flores, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
El Sayed denounced the terrorist attack, perpetrated by a Lebanese immigrant who lost family in an Israeli airstrike, but qualified it at the time, offering support for those affected by Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

— Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of denounced

Browse Nearby Words

ostracize

ostracized

ostracizes

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ostracized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ostracized. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ostracized

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

matriculate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes