- the act of excluding someone from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc., typically by general and often tacit consent: Shame and ostracization left a bitter taste in the mouths of any who dared to offer an unpopular opinion.
- the act of banishing someone from their native country or home territory: Her memoir tells a story of exile and ostracization—a disturbed teen kicked out of her home and driven from her small town to wander abroad.
- (in ancient Greece) the act of banishing a citizen temporarily by popular vote: Around 431 b.c., ostracization of the philosopher Anaxagoras was orchestrated for his own protection by his friend, the statesman Pericles.
