1
as in exiling
to force to leave a country
in the old days, criminals were sometimes banished to distant lands
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dismissing
to drive or force out
permanently banished the troublemakers from the youth recreational center
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 banishing
Should the punishment be a life sentence banishing Belichick from the Hall?
—
Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2026
Dell is her stream's dungeon master, banishing those who don't abide by her terms and steadily rising up the platform's ranks with her sympathetic story and angry-funny screen presence.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
In fact, breathable bags of activated charcoal are one of Palmer's go-to tools for banishing bad smells.
—Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 22 Jan. 2026
But there is more murdering and banishing to come.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026
Gabby Windey, Dylan Efron, Dolores Catania and Lord Ivar Mountbatten won the game after banishing all the Traitors.
—Christopher Kuhagen, jsonline.com, 8 Jan. 2026
But his former mentor isn’t ready to absolve him, banishing Langdon to triage in a transparent act of avoidance.
—Judy Berman, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
For Removing Mildew & Musty Smells If your clothes have a mildewy, musty smell, then vinegar can save the day by banishing these unwanted odors.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026
Maximizing every square inch of space with clever organizers is the key to banishing clutter — and this Amazon find is the ideal fit for transforming cluttered cabinets and shelves.
—Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 28 Dec. 2025
Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2026
Dell is her stream's dungeon master, banishing those who don't abide by her terms and steadily rising up the platform's ranks with her sympathetic story and angry-funny screen presence.
—Danielle Parker, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
In fact, breathable bags of activated charcoal are one of Palmer's go-to tools for banishing bad smells.
—Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 22 Jan. 2026
But there is more murdering and banishing to come.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 9 Jan. 2026
Gabby Windey, Dylan Efron, Dolores Catania and Lord Ivar Mountbatten won the game after banishing all the Traitors.
—Christopher Kuhagen, jsonline.com, 8 Jan. 2026
But his former mentor isn’t ready to absolve him, banishing Langdon to triage in a transparent act of avoidance.
—Judy Berman, Time, 8 Jan. 2026
For Removing Mildew & Musty Smells If your clothes have a mildewy, musty smell, then vinegar can save the day by banishing these unwanted odors.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026
Maximizing every square inch of space with clever organizers is the key to banishing clutter — and this Amazon find is the ideal fit for transforming cluttered cabinets and shelves.
—Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 28 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banishing
Verb
-
Ruthlessly exiling those players sent a clear message about the importance of squad harmony, but arguably handed the leverage in negotiations to buying clubs, driving down their prices and delaying their departures.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
If addiction ends in reconnection, as Kennedy says, then dismissing interventions that create stability, trust, and continuity in people’s lives is counterproductive.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
10 Feb. 2026
-
But the designer explained in his letter that the seasonal campaign is more focused on the theme of dependency and the support of a community, dismissing self sufficiency.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Embracing those expectations rather than fighting them, Kok extended her two-year-plus unbeaten streak at her sport’s shortest distance Sunday, adding a gold medal and the Olympic record to her world mark, beating Jackson head-to-head in the final heat and relegating Leerdam to the silver.—
Howard Fendrich,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
White settlers and corporations quickly swooped in to tap into the vast natural riches of these new territories, relegating the original inhabitants to being strangers in their own land.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
One of the snowmobiles lost control and rolled several times, ejecting the driver from it.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The other imaged nova, V1405 Cassiopeiae, seemed to unfold in spectacular slow motion, taking more than fifty days before finally ejecting all of its exploded material.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Liam Ramos and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos returned home to Minnesota Sunday from the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas after a federal judge temporarily barred federal immigration officials from deporting them.—
Aki Nace,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The administration's hardline immigration enforcement has upset millions of Americans who supported deporting immigrants with criminal records but who are uncomfortable with the aggressive tactics and detention of longtime community members and their children.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Designed for sports, workouts, and outdoor activities, including extreme situations like chasing a departing plane, the glasses feature a smart camera, immersive audio, and built-in Meta AI for everyday performance.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
-
This all comes off as quite wholesome and healthy and refreshing to the large group of investors who spent the past three years bemoaning the increasing concentration of market value in a small cluster of AI-chasing tech platform giants.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Israel retaliated by expelling South Africa’s senior diplomat, escalating tensions already strained by South Africa’s genocide accusations against Israel over the Gaza war.—
Gerald Imray,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Wheatley made her offer before he’d even succeeded in expelling the British from Boston.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The city tossed a curve at the Oilmen last month, evicting them from the Oil City Stadium, their home for the past 15 years.—
Carole Carlson,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
-
But the renovations happening at Serra Grove could have been completed without evicting tenants, Snow said, noting similar cases across the county.—
Hannah Elsmore,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Banishing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banishing. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
