Synonym Chooser

How does the verb oust contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of oust are eject, evict, and expel. While all these words mean "to drive or force out," oust implies removal or dispossession by power of the law or by force or compulsion.

police ousted the squatters

When would eject be a good substitute for oust?

The words eject and oust can be used in similar contexts, but eject carries an especially strong implication of throwing or thrusting out from within as a physical action.

ejected an obnoxious patron from the bar

In what contexts can evict take the place of oust?

The synonyms evict and oust are sometimes interchangeable, but evict chiefly applies to turning out of house and home.

evicted for nonpayment of rent

When might expel be a better fit than oust?

While the synonyms expel and oust are close in meaning, expel stresses a thrusting out or driving away especially permanently which need not be physical.

a student expelled from college

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 oust Bianco was elected in 2018 after being put up to run by the local deputies union, which spent heavily to oust his conservative predecessor. The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 29 July 2025 Tauson ousted Kalinskaya in the round of 64 at Wimbledon earlier this month. Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 27 July 2025 Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to oust members of the advisory board that decides which preventive health measures are covered by insurance, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Bloomberg News, Boston Herald, 26 July 2025 The visit, scheduled for 4pm, is part of the White House’s effort to ramp up scrutiny of the Fed’s $2.5 billion renovation, which President Donald Trump has zeroed in on as a possible pretext for ousting Chair Jerome Powell. Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 22 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for oust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for oust
Verb
  • In March, he was ejected in Phoenix after a dust-up with Durant.
    Doug Haller, New York Times, 24 July 2025
  • The seventh inning, meanwhile, saw Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake get ejected.
    Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 24 July 2025
Verb
  • Maxwell didn't testify in her criminal trial, but she was deposed in 2016 in a civil case brought by Epstein-victim Virginia Giuffre, who has since died by suicide.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 25 July 2025
  • Cosby agreed and was deposed by Constand’s lawyers over four days in 2005 and 2006 (resulting in more than 1,000 pages of testimony).
    Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 23 July 2025
Verb
  • Troopers are now searching for the former tenant, 54-year-old James Sever, who was evicted from the Salem Township property in June, Pennsylvania State Police said July 25.
    Mike Stunson, Miami Herald, 28 July 2025
  • This left just Amy and Will, one of whom was evicted after a unanimous vote.
    Dina Kaur, AZCentral.com, 28 July 2025
Verb
  • Among the line-up for this year’s speakers is also director-producer duo Ben Wheatley and Andy Starke (Kill List, Bulk, Sightseers) as well as Andrea Arnold, best known for her 2024 Cannes outing Bird.
    Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 18 July 2025
  • In March, 2008, the Post published a front-page story on Eliot Spitzer, then the governor of New York, who—after cracking down on prostitution rings while serving as the state’s attorney general, from 1999 to 2006—was outed as having patronized an escort service.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 July 2025
Verb
  • Planting them in groups or among other plants helps keep them upright, but tall varieties often topple over onto their neighbors as the season progresses.
    Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2025
  • The Islamic Republic grew even weaker in December, when rebels toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, another faithful Iranian ally.
    MOHAMMAD AYATOLLAHI TABAAR, Foreign Affairs, 8 July 2025
Verb
  • Over the course of several weeks in June and July, CNN followed a group of Palestinian women facing an awful choice between risking their own lives, which could deprive their families of their only remaining provider, or watching their children starve.
    Sarah El Sirgany, CNN Money, 30 July 2025
  • Not only negligence, but accident or fraud, fire or theft, might deprive an individual of his office.
    Liz Tracey, JSTOR Daily, 29 July 2025
Verb
  • To start, banish these five categories of items from your countertops ASAP.
    Amy Panos, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 July 2025
  • As former players who lived the mind games firsthand, the trio will bring their behind-the-scenes insights, examine the strategies, decipher the deception, and, of course, banish the boring in their new podcast.
    Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 22 July 2025
Verb
  • Gutfeld! was the first late-night program to unseat Colbert as the ratings leader since 2017, and has topped the program for three years straight.
    Judith Y. Kim, The Washington Examiner, 23 July 2025
  • The tempestuous situation poses a myriad of thorny questions for which there are no easy answers considering no president ever has tried to unseat a Fed chair.
    Jeff Cox, CNBC, 19 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Oust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/oust. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.

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