excommunicate

English

Pronunciation

Verb
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌɛkskəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌɛkskəˈmjunəkeɪt/
  • Audio (General American):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)
Adjective and noun
  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌɛkskəˈmjuːnɪkət/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌɛkskəˈmjunəkət/
  • Audio (General American):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)

Etymology 1

From Ecclesiastical Latin excommunicātus, perfect passive participle of excommunicō (“excommunicate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, ex- +‎ communicate.

Verb

excommunicate (third-person singular simple present excommunicates, present participle excommunicating, simple past and past participle excommunicated)

  1. (transitive) To officially exclude someone from membership of a church or religious community.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXXVII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 294:
      “Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It’s absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.” ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain.
    • 2026 July 2, Angela Giuffrida, “Vatican excommunicates all members of ultra-conservative rebel group SSPX”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 October 2026:
      The Vatican has excommunicated a rebel group of ultra-conservative Catholics who defied Pope Leo by ordaining bishops without his consent, creating a schism in the Roman Catholic church. […] “The Vatican hopes that by being harsh on the bishops, the priests and faithful, maybe some of them will repent and turn back to mother church. Because it’s not nice to be excommunicated.”
  2. (transitive, historical or figurative) To exclude from any other group; to banish.
    • 1982 December 18, Pat Califa, “Open Policy”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 22, page 5:
      Samois includes celebate [sic], heterosexual and bisexual women as well as lesbians, and I feel very strongly that this is the wisest choice. Our community is so fragile that we can't afford to fragment it by excommunicating non-lesbian women.
    • 1987, InfoWorld, volume 9, number 37, page 46:
      Although our Macs served us well, in those early, dark years Macintosh users were effectively excommunicated by the computer establishment.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Ecclesiastical Latin, Late Latin excommunicātus, perfect passive participle of excommunicō (“put out of the community”). See -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. Displaced native Old English āmǣnsumian.

Adjective

excommunicate (not comparable)

  1. (archaic) Excommunicated.

Etymology 3

From a substantivation of the above adjective. See -ate (noun-forming suffix) for more.

Noun

excommunicate (plural excommunicates)

  1. An excommunicated person.
    Synonyms: excommunicant, excommunicatee
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