excommunicate Synonyms
Another word for excommunicate
• verb (Context 1)
To officially exclude someone from participation in the sacraments and services of a religious community, especially the Christian Church.
"Pope Leo X issued a papal bull threatening to anathematize Martin Luther unless he recanted his writings."
• verb (Context 2)
To expel, banish, or ostracize someone from a non-religious group, organization, or faction.
"Critics who questioned the party's platform found themselves effectively excommunicated from its inner circle."
• noun (Context 3)
A person who has been officially excluded from the communion, sacraments, and fellowship of a church.
"The historical register listed the names of heretics and excommunicates who had been barred from burial in consecrated ground."
• adjective (Context 4)
Excluded from the sacraments, rights, or fellowship of a church by ecclesiastical authority.
"Under medieval canon law, an excommunicated ruler could no longer command the feudal allegiance of Christian subjects."
Opposites of excommunicate
The opposite of excommunicate shifts depending on context. Common opposites include: