Synonym Chooser

How does the verb deport contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of deport are banish, exile, and transport. While all these words mean "to remove by authority from a state or country," deport implies sending out of the country an alien who has illegally entered or whose presence is judged inimical to the public welfare.

illegal aliens will be deported

When might banish be a better fit than deport?

In some situations, the words banish and deport are roughly equivalent. However, banish implies compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own.

banished for seditious activities

When is it sensible to use exile instead of deport?

The synonyms exile and deport are sometimes interchangeable, but exile may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country.

a writer who exiled himself for political reasons

When is transport a more appropriate choice than deport?

The meanings of transport and deport largely overlap; however, transport implies sending a convicted criminal to an overseas penal colony.

a convict who was transported to Australia

Examples of deport in a Sentence

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web Even if Musk were found to have violated the law, he would not be summarily deported. Tim Marchman, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024 But there’s also a real risk that deporting millions of undocumented workers – if that were even possible – would cause wages to surge and that would lift prices for consumers. Matt Egan, CNN, 30 Oct. 2024 If feasible, the cost to deport even 1 million undocumented immigrants a year would cost over $88 billion, for a total of $967.9 billion over more than 10 years, according to a new report from the American Immigration Council. Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 3 Nov. 2024 Trump has promised to deport 11 million people, mostly to Latin America — though experts are dubious that such a feat is even feasible. New York Times, 3 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for deport 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deport
Verb
  • Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, Dharamshala is best known internationally as the seat of the Dalai Lama, who has been based there since being exiled from Tibet in 1959.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 4 Nov. 2024
  • But he’s falsely accused and exiled in a scheme to break off his relationship with the local ruler’s daughter Tirtaningsih.
    H.M.A. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • But lo, even with the Honorable Anna J. Brown presiding having prevented 12 citizens good and true from seeing the boys stand before them in contemporary cowboy attire, Ammon and Ryan were acquitted on all counts.
    Matt Thompson, SPIN, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Outside of Volpe, the Yanks’ younger charges did not acquit themselves particularly well this postseason.
    Tony Blengino, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Tribal leaders had banished Chasing Horse in 2015 from the reservation amid allegations of human trafficking.
    CBS News, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024
  • Those found guilty of habitual funny cowboy dancing are either executed or banished to the Desolate Zone, where they are forced to get jobs and raise families.
    Jack Handey, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • The company updated the Starlink shop with the new gear, which is meant to carry the V4 standard Starlink dish, a model that began rolling out about a year ago.
    & Michael Kan, PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
  • The committee’s bipartisan group of election and law enforcement officials developed pocket-size guides to election laws for police officers to carry.
    Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The Brazilian Grand Prix, in particular, was eventful with Norris taking a victory in the sprint race and Verstappen receiving a 5-second penalty, relegating him from P3 to P4 behind Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc, in that order.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
  • Many Republicans expect that Johnson wouldn’t be elected to leadership if the GOP is relegated to the House minority.
    Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 1 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental illness affecting how a person thinks, feels and behaves.
    Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
  • High ticket prices not a deterrent Culture shifts and costly tickets may be affecting how people behave in public.
    Felecia Wellington Radel, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • The City Council took a step toward eliminating a rule that allows renters to be evicted when landlords carry out major renovations of their buildings.
    Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024
  • After the assaults, the bombardment died down, possibly indicating the Ukrainians had evicted local Russian forces.
    David Axe, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • After the race, an enraged Borel is restrained by security personnel and his older brother Cecil. 2010 — Mexico beats the United States in one of the biggest upsets in the history of women’s soccer.
    Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Attempts to restrain large tech companies are taking aim at core parts of the business — which, according to a fresh round of earnings wins, are channeling gargantuan revenue hauls.
    Adriana Lee, WWD, 4 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near deport

Cite this Entry

“Deport.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deport. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on deport

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