banish
gb/bˈænɪʃ/ us/bˈænɪʃ/
B2
English
~ 9400
Senses
0 senses
Verb
formal
B2
action
1
to send someone away in exile
To order someone to leave a place or country, usually as a punishment, and not allow them to come back.
Usage pattern:
to banish [someone] from [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "banish" with "ban." "Banish" usually involves sending a person away from a place, often permanently, while "ban" means to officially not allow an activity, object, or sometimes a person. Also, do not confuse "banish" with "vanish"; "vanish" means to disappear by itself, not to be forced out.
Synonyms
exile (Focuses on being forced to live away from one's home country, often long-term or permanently.)
|
expel (More general; can be used for schools, clubs, or places, not only countries, and sounds slightly less formal than "banish".)
|
deport (Used mainly for sending non-citizens out of a country for legal reasons; more technical and legalistic.)
Antonyms
welcome (Suggests warmly allowing someone to enter or stay, the opposite of forcing them to leave.)
|
repatriate (Means sending someone back to their own country, often after being away, the reverse direction of banishment.)
Collocations
banish someone from the country
|banish someone from the city
|banish someone from the kingdom
|officially banish
|banish someone to exile
|banish forever
Themes
law
|society
|power
|politics
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The dictator banished his political opponents from the capital.
- After the scandal, he was banished from the royal court and stripped of his title.
- For breaking the sacred law, the tribe banished him from their lands.
- The rebels were captured and banished to a remote island.
- In the story, the witch is banished from the village for practicing dark magic.
Learner examples
- The king banished the thief from the city.
- He was banished from his country and could not return.
- They banished the man from the village after the crime.
- In the movie, the hero is banished to a far place.
- She fears being banished from her family.
Verb
C1
action
2
to get rid of a feeling or thought
To make a bad feeling, thought, or problem go away so it does not bother you anymore.
Usage pattern:
to banish [unwanted feeling/thought/problem]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "banish" only for people and places. In modern English, it is very common to use "banish" for thoughts, feelings, and problems (e.g., "banish fear"), not just for people. Also, avoid saying "banish about"; we say "banish fear" or "banish fear from your mind," not "banish about fear."
Synonyms
eliminate (A general term for completely removing something; lacks the emotional or mental focus that "banish" often has.)
|
dispel (Commonly used for fears, doubts, or rumors; suggests breaking up something until it disappears.)
|
drive away (More informal and vivid; often used for fears or worries, similar to pushing them out of your mind.)
Antonyms
harbor (To keep and hold onto feelings or thoughts, especially negative ones, which is the opposite of removing them.)
Collocations
banish fear
|banish fears
|banish doubts
|banish anxiety
|banish negative thoughts
|banish bad memories
Themes
emotions
|thinking
|health
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She tried to banish all thoughts of failure before the exam.
- The warm sunshine seemed to banish his sadness.
- Meditation can help banish anxiety and stress.
- He forced himself to banish the painful memory from his mind.
- The coach spoke to banish any doubts the team still had.
Learner examples
- She wants to banish her fear of flying.
- A good laugh can banish stress for a while.
- He closed his eyes and tried to banish the bad memory.
- Exercise helped him banish his sadness.
- She took a walk to banish her angry thoughts.
Verb
C1
action
3
to remove something from use or presence
To stop something from being used or seen in a place, usually because people decide it should not be there anymore.
Usage pattern:
to banish [something] from [a place/situation]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think this meaning is always legal or official, like a new law. It can be softer and used for strong goals or campaigns ("banish junk food from my diet") that are not formal laws.
Synonyms
eliminate (Stresses complete removal; slightly more general and less expressive than "banish.")
|
outlaw (Focuses on making something illegal rather than simply removing it from a place.)
|
ban (Emphasizes the act of officially not allowing something, while "banish" also carries a sense of pushing it out of sight or presence.)
Antonyms
allow (Means to let something exist or happen, which is the opposite of removing or forbidding it.)
Collocations
banish smoking from bars
|banish junk food from schools
|banish plastic bags from stores
|banish corruption from politics
|banish poverty from the city
|banish bias from the workplace
Themes
society
|policy
|environment
|law
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The city plans to banish private cars from the historic center.
- Several schools have banished junk food from their cafeterias.
- The new policy aims to banish single-use plastics from the office.
- They are working to banish corruption from local government.
- The campaign hopes to banish sexism from the workplace.
Learner examples
- The school wants to banish phones from the classroom.
- Many cities try to banish plastic bags from shops.
- The company wants to banish hate speech from its website.
- They hope to banish smoking from all offices.
- The project tries to banish hunger from the area.
Grammar
Dictionary form
banish
IPA
GB/bˈænɪʃ/
US/bˈænɪʃ/
Syllables & stress
ban - ish (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (ban)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: banish
- 3rd Person Singular: banishes
- Present Participle: banishing
- Past: banished
Word family
Forms
banishes
verb
banishing
verb
banished
verb
Core family
banishment
noun C1
Related words
exile
verb B2
Expressions
banish from your mind
1/bˈænɪʃ fɹˈʌm jˈʊɹ mˈaɪnd/
fixed phrase
stop thinking about something on purpose
To make yourself stop thinking about a particular idea, fear, or memory.
Examples
- Try to banish from your mind the idea that you might fail.
- She told him to banish from his mind any worries about money.
- He tried to banish from his mind the image of the accident.
banish the thought
1/bˈænɪʃ ðə θˈɔt/
fixed phrase
informal
strongly reject a possible idea
Used to say that an idea or possibility is bad or unpleasant and that we should not think about it.
Examples
- Me, married to him? Banish the thought!
- Banish the thought of giving up; we're almost finished.
- He joked about moving back in with his parents, then quickly added, "Banish the thought."