excommunicate

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verb

ex·​com·​mu·​ni·​cate ˌek-skə-ˈmyü-nə-ˌkāt How to pronounce excommunicate (audio)
excommunicated; excommunicating; excommunicates
Synonyms of excommunicatenext

transitive verb

: to subject to excommunication
excommunicator
ˌek-skə-ˈmyü-nə-ˌkā-tər How to pronounce excommunicate (audio)
noun

excommunicate

2 of 3

adjective

ex·​com·​mu·​ni·​cate ˌek-skə-ˈmyü-ni-kət How to pronounce excommunicate (audio)
: excluded from the rights of church membership : excommunicated
excommunicate noun

excommunicator

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noun

ex·​com·​mu·​ni·​ca·​tor -nəˌkātə(r) How to pronounce excommunicator (audio)
-ātə-
: one that excommunicates

Examples of excommunicate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Verb
Six bishops and hundreds of priests belonging to the society have been excommunicated. — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 2 July 2026 In a decree, the Vatican excommunicated the four new bishops and the two bishops who participated in the ceremony. — ABC News, 2 July 2026 Who knows whether fellow Big 12 schools will actually follow through on their thus-far anonymous threats to forfeit games if Tech suits up Sorsby or if there will be attempts to excommunicate Tech from the conference? — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 11 June 2026 The July 2 decree said the two bishops leading the unauthorized ordination, held in Switzerland on July 1, had been excommunicated, along with the four priests who had become new bishops, which was widely expected. — Joshua McElwee, USA Today, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for excommunicate

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Late Latin excommunicatus, past participle of excommunicare, from Latin ex- + Late Latin communicare to communicate

Noun

Late Latin, from excommunicatus + Latin -or

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1521, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of excommunicate was in the 15th century

Rhymes for excommunicate

See All Rhymes for excommunicate

Browse Nearby Words

excommunicable
excommunicate
excommunication
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Excommunicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excommunicate. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Kids Definition

excommunicate

verb
ex·​com·​mu·​ni·​cate
ˌeks-kə-ˈmyü-nə-ˌkāt
excommunicated; excommunicating
: to shut off officially from the rights of church membership
excommunication
-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən
noun
excommunicator
-ˈmyü-nə-ˌkāt-ər
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on excommunicate

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for excommunicate

Nglish: Translation of excommunicate for Spanish Speakers

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