- (transitive)
to sentence (a member of the Church) to exclusion from the communion of believers and from the privileges and public prayers of the Church
having incurred such a sentence
an excommunicated person
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
ex•com•mu•ni•ca•to•ry
(eks′kə myo̅o̅′ni kə tôr′ē, -tōr′ē),USA pronunciation adj.
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025- Religionrelating to or causing excommunication.
- excommunicate + -ory1 1675–85
ex•com•mu•ni•cate /ˌɛkskəˈmyunɪˌkeɪt/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object], -cat•ed, -cat•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025- Religionto cut off from the rites of a church.
ex•com•mu•ni•cate
(v. eks′kə myo̅o̅′ni kāt′;n., adj. eks′kə myo̅o̅′ni kit, -kāt′),USA pronunciation v., -cat•ed, -cat•ing, n., adj.
v.t.
n.
adj.
ex′com•mu′ni•ca′tor, n.
v.t.
- Religionto cut off from communion with a church or exclude from the sacraments of a church by ecclesiastical sentence.
- Religionto exclude or expel from membership or participation in any group, association, etc.:an advertiser excommunicated from a newspaper.
n.
- Religionan excommunicated person.
adj.
- Religioncut off from communion with a church;
excommunicated.
- Late Latin excommūnicātus literally, put out of the community (past participle of excommūnicāre), equivalent. to ex- ex-1 + commūn(is) common, public + -ic- (by analogy with commūnicāre to communicate) + -ātus -ate1
- late Middle English excommunicaten (verb, verbal) 1375–1425
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