What does ostracizer mean?
An ostracizer is someone who deliberately excludes another person from a group, community, organization, or set of rights and privileges. The term can suggest ordinary social exclusion, but it often implies a powerful or persistent actor whose behavior has a noticeable effect on someone else. Ostracizer is the agent noun associated with ostracize and ostracism. It is less common in general use than the verb, and it is especially appropriate in political, social, institutional, or workplace contexts where exclusion is systematic or intentional. The word carries a strongly negative connotation because it evokes both social rejection and the historical practice of ostracism in ancient Athens, in which citizens voted to banish another citizen. In modern writing, it can be used to identify the person responsible for exclusion rather than merely describing the isolated act.
nounSomeone who ostracizes another person, especially by deliberately excluding them from a social group, community, or set of privileges.
- A person who excludes or shun others from a social group, organization, or community.
"The committee's ostracizer was accused of using exclusion to silence dissent."
"No single ostracizer could prevent the project from becoming popular."
"Her fear was that one powerful ostracizer would turn the community against her."
The regular plural is ostracizers.
"Several ostracizers worked together to keep the newcomer isolated."
The word traces back to ancient Athens, where a citizen could be banished by having his name written on a pottery shard called an ostrakon.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does ostracizer come from?
Ostracizer belongs to the family of words derived from ostracize and ostracism. These words come through Latin from Greek ostrakizein, meaning to exile by vote, which was based on ostrakon, the word for a tile or pottery shard. In ancient Athens, citizens' names were written on shards to determine who would be ostracized, and the modern words preserve that sense of formal exclusion.
Related word forms
How ostracizer is actually used
This is a relatively uncommon and formal noun. It is normally used when the exclusion of someone is deliberate and socially significant; the more usual word is ostracize for the action.
Easily confused with ostracizer
An ostracizer is the person who performs the act of excluding someone, whereas an ostracist is more commonly used as a noun for a historic practice or official that carried out ostracism.