excommunication

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˌɛkskəˌmjunɪˈkeɪʃən/ UK /ˌɛkskəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃən/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the formal exclusion of a person from communion or membership of a church

The heretic faced excommunication for refusing to recant.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the formal exclusion of a... expulsion banishment exclusion anathema ostracism proscription

Opposites

reinstatementadmission communion

Word family

Related forms excommunicate communion communicate

Etymology

From Late Latin excommunicatio, from excommunicare ('to put out of the community'), from ex- ('out') + communicare ('to share, make common'), from communis ('common').

excommunicare Latin communis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

# excommunication

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌɛkskəˌmjunɪˈkeɪʃən
**IPA (UK):** ˌɛkskəˌmjuːnɪˈkeɪʃən

## Meanings
1. the formal exclusion of a person from communion or membership of a church

## Examples
- The heretic faced excommunication for refusing to recant.

## Synonyms
- expulsion
- banishment
- exclusion
- anathema
- ostracism
- proscription

## Antonyms
- reinstatement
- admission
- communion

## Related Forms
- excommunicate
- communion
- communicate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: excommunicare
- Root: communis

## Etymology
From Late Latin excommunicatio, from excommunicare ('to put out of the community'), from ex- ('out') + communicare ('to share, make common'), from communis ('common').

## AI Etymology
Excommunication comes from Late Latin excommunicatio, from excommunicare ('to put out of the community'), from ex- ('out') + communicare ('to share, make common'), from communis ('common'). Morphologically, the form is compositional: ex- marks part of the visible structure, while the remaining element supplies the lexical base. In present use, it is used as a noun meaning "the formal exclusion of a person from communion or membership of a church", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The wider English family includes related forms such as excommunicate, communion, and communicate, showing how the same historical material continues to organize neighboring vocabulary. The named historical forms include Latin excommunicare and Latin communis, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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