BharatNotes Ostracise
verb (transitive)Usage in a UPSC answer
When dissent is met not with rebuttal but with a coordinated effort to ostracise the critic, a democracy quietly forfeits the very pluralism that legitimises its institutions.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
ostracism (n), ostracised (adj), ostracising (v pres.p), ostracization (n)
Root
Greek ostrakon = potsherd, tile → ostrakizein = to banish by voting with potsherds
Etymology
From Greek ostrakizein 'to banish by voting with potsherds', from ostrakon 'potsherd, tile' (on which Athenian citizens scratched the name of the person to be exiled). Adopted into English in the early 17th century.
Memory Hook
Picture an OYSTER shell (ostrakon) being scratched with a name to vote someone OUT - in ancient Athens, the shell decided who got cast aside.
Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation
