What does exiler mean?
"Exiler" is a rare agent noun referring to a person who sends another person into exile — the one who carries out the act of banishment, as opposed to the exile who suffers it. It is formed regularly from the verb and noun "exile," in the same way that "employer" is formed from "employ." Despite its grammatical legitimacy, the word is seldom encountered in ordinary writing: when historians and journalists describe someone who banished a rival or a dissident, they overwhelmingly prefer phrasings such as "he exiled his opponents" or "the banishment of..." rather than reaching for "exiler" as a standalone noun. When it does appear, it tends to occur in literary, historical, or rhetorical contexts where the agent of banishment is being singled out for emphasis. The word carries strongly negative connotations, since forced removal from one's homeland has historically been a punishment for political enemies, and it inherits these associations from "exile" itself. Readers are most likely to meet "exiler" in dictionaries or word lists rather than in live usage, which makes it a curiosity of English word-formation more than a working vocabulary item.
nounA rare agent noun meaning a person who exiles someone, i.e. who forces or sends another person into exile.
- A person who sends or forces another into exile.
"History remembers the tyrant chiefly as the exiler of his most brilliant critics."
"The tribunal portrayed the general as the exiler of an entire intellectual generation."
"As the exiler of his rivals, the duke secured absolute control over the city."
Standard pluralization with -s; the plural is even rarer than the singular.
"History's great exilers often claimed to be acting for the good of the state."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exiler
"Exiler" derives from "exile," which entered English from Old French in the medieval period and ultimately traces back to the Latin verb "exulare," meaning "to be banished" or "to live away from one's homeland," formed from "ex-" ("out") plus "aula" or related roots denoting one's home country. The agent-noun suffix "-er" was then attached to produce "one who exiles." Because "exile" itself covers both the person banished and the act of banishing, the derivative "exiler" remained marginal and never established itself as a common term.
How exiler is actually used
"Exiler" is a very rare, mostly theoretical agent noun formed regularly from "exile"; in practice, writers almost always use "exile" or say that someone "banished" or "sent into exile" rather than using this form.
Easily confused with exiler
"Exile" refers either to the state of being banished or to the banished person itself, whereas "exiler" is the rare agent noun denoting the person who does the exiling.