Banish
/ˈbænɪʃ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo send (someone) away and forbid them from returning.
verbTo expel, especially from the mind.
Sentence Examples
You will banish him.
His story will banish your fears.
I've tried to banish the memory of him crying.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The evil king decided to ____ the rebel from the kingdom forever.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The king decided to ____ the man from the whole kingdom forever.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English banishen, from Old French baniss-, extended stem of banir (“to proclaim, ban, banish”), of Germanic origin and Old English bannan, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“curse, forbid”). Compare French bannir. Doublet of ban.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The parsnip, stilton and chestnut combination may taste good, but it's not terribly decorative. In fact, dull's the word, a lingering adjectival ghost of nut roasts past that I'm keen to banish from the table."
— 2011 December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in Guardian:
"Then yours she will never be! You are banished her presence; her mother has opened her eyes to your designs, and she is now upon her guard against them."
— 1796, Matthew Lewis, The Monk, Folio Society, published 1985, page 190:
"[…]St. Bede's at this period of its history was perhaps the poorest and most miserable parish in the East End of London. Close-packed, crushed by the buttressed height of the railway viaduct, rendered airless by huge walls of factories, it at once banished lively interest from a stranger's mind and left only a dull oppression of the spirit."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The evil king decided to ____ the rebel from the kingdom forever.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The king decided to ____ the man from the whole kingdom forever.