Exile Meaning
/ˈɛɡˌzaɪl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe state of being banished from one's home or country.
nounSomeone who is banished from his home or country.
Sentence Examples
The exile yearned for his home.
The criminal was sent into exile.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the coup, the deposed king was forced into ____ on a remote island.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fallen leader was forced into ____ in a foreign country for the remainder of his life.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English exil, borrowed from Old French essil, exil, from Latin exsilium, exilium (“state of exile”), derived from exsul, exul (“exiled person”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Let them be recalled from their exile."
— c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv]:
"My son, a Canada-based IT professional who often travels to Ukraine, told me about the exhilarating atmosphere on those Ukraine-bound trains, bringing home hundreds of the unwilling refugees, mostly women and children (including the babies, born in exile on the way to meet their Ukrainian fighter fathers for the first time). The difference between Ukrainian refugees and other reluctant exiles is that Ukrainians are desperate to return."
— 2024 September 4, Vitali Vitaliev, “A salute to Ukraine's 'Second Army'”, in RAIL, number 1017, page 49:
"Thou art an exile, and thou must not stay."
— c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
"Calling home our exiled friends abroad."
— c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene viii]:
"She, mouldering with the dull earth's mouldering sod, / Inwrapt tenfold in slothful shame, / Lay there exiled from eternal God, / Lost to her place and name."
— 1832 December (indicated as 1833), Alfred Tennyson, “The Palace of Art”, in Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza LXVIII, page 87:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the coup, the deposed king was forced into ____ on a remote island.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The fallen leader was forced into ____ in a foreign country for the remainder of his life.