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

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of deport Within weeks of naming Noem and the others, Khan received a notice that ICE had begun proceedings to deport him and he was ordered to appear at the hearing after which he was hit with the Tasers and taken into custody, according to the court filing. Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025 More immigration news: A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s effort to deport pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil on foreign policy grounds is most likely unconstitutional. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 29 May 2025 His attorneys said he was deported to Mexico, where he had previously been raped, before going into hiding in Guatemala after being sent there. Rebecca Falconer, Axios, 29 May 2025 The Trump administration has deported two Cubans convicted of serious crimes to an African nation, after Cuba refused to take them back. Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 21 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for deport
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deport
Verb
  • The original Tulsa King stars Stallone as a New York mobster who is exiled to Oklahoma and builds up his own new crime empire.
    James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 5 June 2025
  • The show follows Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Inspector, Donny ‘Fitz’ Fitzpatrick, who digs too deeply into a local politician’s nefarious activity, and is exiled to work in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • He was acquitted of all charges after a trial in criminal court.
    Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025
  • Despite the witnesses who saw Dennis’s murder, the seven men involved were acquitted and were convicted of lesser offenses.
    Sam Gillette, People.com, 27 May 2025
Verb
  • Their preferred solution to informational complexity—that certain ideas and the people associated with them were Bad and Wrong and needed to be banished from the public sphere—wasn’t much better.
    Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 28 May 2025
  • Through his tight leadership that began with the fifth season, delays became a thing of the past, unceremoniously banished to the farthest reaches of the Central Finite Curve.
    Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
Verb
  • Israeli forces early Monday detained an aid boat bound for Gaza while carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists.
    Bradford Betz , Yonat Friling, FOXNews.com, 9 June 2025
  • The 21-year-old champion was photographed carrying her trophy in a full Miu Miu outfit, pairing pieces from the brand’s spring 2024 collection with metallic sneakers from her upcoming collaboration with New Balance.
    Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 9 June 2025
Verb
  • This relegated him to being an 82-game player rather than a 16-game one, which limited his value to prospective teams.
    Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
  • Sourcing in this mode is even less robust; Google relegates sources to clickable carets that don’t highlight the relevant portions of its response.
    Ruben Circelli, PC Magazine, 5 June 2025
Verb
  • There are times when adults really should behave more like children.
    DeVonne Goode, Parents, 6 June 2025
  • Successful deployment depends on robust guardrails—policies, oversight mechanisms and escalation paths that ensure agents behave in alignment with enterprise standards.
    Alan Ranger, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025
Verb
  • The film follows her on the worst day of her life as she gets fired, evicted and robbed at gunpoint.
    Caroline Blair, People.com, 10 June 2025
  • In May, 2021, riots had erupted in some mixed cities, sparked partly in response to a government effort to evict Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
    Eyal Press, New Yorker, 9 June 2025
Verb
  • The motion requests the judge to restrain all members of Trump’s administration from enforcing the order.
    Andy Rose, CNN Money, 5 June 2025
  • Hopefully, Samsung can restrain the urge to overload the Galaxy S26 with redundant AI features, but don't get your hopes up.
    Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 2 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Deport.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deport. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.

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