Ostracize
— to exclude; to banish
Ostracize means to deliberately exclude someone from a group or community, treating them as an outcast. It is a social punishment — the person is not physically harmed but is cut off from belonging, companionship, and participation.
The word can describe formal exclusion (being voted out of an organization) or informal shunning (being ignored at social gatherings). Being ostracized is particularly painful because it attacks a person's fundamental need to belong. The word carries a strong negative connotation and implies that the exclusion is intentional and often collective.
Do you know what Ostracize means?
Answer a question to start building your vocabulary.
Memory Mnemonic
OH STAR SIZE
The keyword OH STAR SIZE comes from how Ostracize sounds when spoken aloud. This pronunciation connection makes it easy to recall the keyword whenever you hear or see the word.
Memory Link
"OH, the STAR's ego is the SIZE of the room!" they said and kicked him out—they excluded and banished him!
Picture a movie STAR whose ego has grown to the SIZE of the entire room — everyone finally has enough and kicks him out, excluding and banishing him from the group entirely. OH STAR SIZE gives you the keyword, and the image of someone whose arrogance gets them thrown out and shunned by everyone captures the meaning of ostracize. Visualise the star standing alone outside a locked door, pounding on it while everyone inside ignores him completely.
HOW TO MEMORIZE VOCABULARY
There are 3 steps to effectively memorising vocabulary.
Step 1: Derive a keyword from the word based on how the word is spelled or pronounced. Next time you see the word, you will be able to derive the keyword from it because it is based on the word.
Step 2: Form a visual memory link that connects the keyword and the meaning(s) of the word you are learning.
Step 3: Ensure to Visualise the image, see it in your imagination. This is important even if it takes a few seconds.
Usage Examples
- After speaking out against the company's practices, she was ostracized by her colleagues and excluded from meetings.
- The community ostracized the family for breaking long-standing traditions.
- He was ostracized from the group chat after the disagreement, with no one responding to his messages.
- In ancient Athens, citizens could vote to ostracize a political leader they considered a threat to democracy.
- The whistleblower was ostracized by the industry, unable to find work at any competing firm.
Etymology of Ostracize
From Greek ostrakizein, meaning "to banish by voting with potsherds," derived from ostrakon (a piece of broken pottery). In ancient Athens, citizens would write the name of a person they wanted banished on a pottery shard and cast it as a vote. If enough votes were collected, the person was exiled for ten years.
Synonyms & Antonyms of Ostracize
Synonyms
Antonyms
Common Collocations with Ostracize
You've Learned It. Now Make Sure You Never Forget It.
The mnemonic visualisation above helps you learn this word instantly — no rote memorisation needed. But to move it into long-term memory, you still need to review it a few times.
This is where spaced repetition comes in — it shows you words right before you're about to forget them, so you spend less time reviewing and remember more. After just a few spaced reviews, you'll start recalling the meaning naturally — without even needing the keyword or memory link.
Built In Spaced Repetition
You've learned this word using our mnemonic system — but to truly lock it into long-term memory, you need to review it at the right time. That's where spaced repetition comes in.
Our built-in spaced repetition system shows you words just before you're about to forget them, so you review less and remember more. After a few reviews, you'll recall the meaning naturally — without even needing the keyword or memory link.
Explore Word List
You can explore the Word List for a pack from the dashboard. Once you have selected a pack, just clicks Words
Visualisation Help
Visualising the memory link is the most important step — it's what makes you remember the word on the very first try. Don't just read the memory link. Close your eyes and see it play out in your imagination.
The more vivid and detailed your mental image, the stronger the memory. Every word on VocabularyFast comes with a visualisation audio guide. Just look at the image, hit play, and follow the audio as it walks you through the scene.
This takes only a few seconds but makes all the difference between forgetting a word tomorrow and remembering it for life.
Test Yourself With Quizzes
Quizzes are the fastest way to check if you've truly learned a word. Pick from two modes — see the word and recall the meaning, or see the meaning and recall the word.
Both directions strengthen your memory in different ways. Each quiz is 10 questions, so it only takes a minute or two. Take a quiz anytime to quickly spot which words need more review.
Learn In Focused Groups
Words in each pack are organized into smaller, meaningful groups — not random lists. Each group contains words that share a theme, difficulty level, or frequency of appearance.
This lets you focus your learning on the words that matter most, rather than jumping between unrelated words. Start with the most commonly tested words and work your way through each group at your own pace.
Ready to boost your vocabulary?
Build Vocabulary Now