exodus

noun

ex·o·dus ˈek-sə-dəs

ˈeg-zə-

Synonyms of exodus next

capitalized : the mainly narrative second book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture see Bible Table

: a mass departure : emigration

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Don't Leave Without the History of Exodos

The Biblical book of Exodus describes the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, so it's no surprise that the word exodus, uncapitalized, has come to refer more generally to any mass departure. Exodus was adopted into English (via Latin) from the Greek word Exodos, which literally means “the road out.” Exodos was formed by combining the prefix ex-, meaning “out of,” and hodos, meaning “road” or “way.” Indeed, many roads led out of hodos into English; other hodos descendants include episode, method, odometer, and period. While exodus is occasionally encountered in reference to an individual’s leaving (e.g., “his/her/their exodus”), such usage is likely to raise the eyebrows of editors who feel it should only refer to the departure en masse of a large group of people, as when novelist Nnedi Okorafor writes in her science fiction novel Lagoon (2015): “Everyone was trying to get somewhere, be it a church, a bar, home or out of Lagos. Then there was the exodus of people … to the parts of the city that had the least chance of flooding if the water rose too high.”

Examples of exodus in a Sentence

the mass exodus from the cities for the beaches and the mountains on most summer weekends

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

That set off a subscriber exodus, with NPR reporting that more than 200,000 canceled their digital subscriptions. —

Ted Johnson, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2024 This hard truth is compounded by findings in Augury’s State of Production Health report, which reveals that 91% of manufacturers say that the mass exodus of industry veterans will worsen the knowledge gap. —

Saar Yoskovitz, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024 The strategy ultimately failed to dislodge Maduro, however, and sanctions only deepened Venezuela’s economic crisis, contributing to an even greater exodus of Venezuelan migrants to the United States and elsewhere in the region. —

Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024 Advertisement And the exodus continued Tuesday afternoon as one of the Trojans’ top young receivers, Duce Robinson, also entered the portal. —

Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for exodus