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as in to exhale
to let or force out of the lungs asked the patient to expel a deep breath

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb expel contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of expel are eject, evict, and oust. While all these words mean "to drive or force out," expel stresses a thrusting out or driving away especially permanently which need not be physical.

a student expelled from college

When would eject be a good substitute for expel?

While the synonyms eject and expel are close in meaning, eject carries an especially strong implication of throwing or thrusting out from within as a physical action.

ejected an obnoxious patron from the bar

When could evict be used to replace expel?

The words evict and expel are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, evict chiefly applies to turning out of house and home.

evicted for nonpayment of rent

When is it sensible to use oust instead of expel?

While in some cases nearly identical to expel, oust implies removal or dispossession by power of the law or by force or compulsion.

police ousted the squatters

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 expel Two trans service members are suing the Trump administration’s executive order seeking to expel trans people from the U.S. military. Abby Monteil, Them, 18 Mar. 2025 Grant Miner, the president of a union representing thousands of Columbia student workers who were fired and expelled this week, addressed the crowd. Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2025 Separately, Columbia University announced Thursday that students who occupied the campus' Hamilton Hall during pro-Palestinian protests last spring have been expelled, been suspended for several years or had their degrees temporarily revoked. Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2025 According to Kurth, in an attempt to get rid of his rivals, Hitler promptly expelled Thompson from Nazi Germany in the summer of 1934. Mycah Hazel, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for expel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expel
Verb
  • The driver of the first car, 57-year-old Andra Craig, was ejected from his vehicle and died as a result of the crash.
    Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Mar. 2025
  • The sun ejected what is called a coronal mass of plasma and magnetic field on Friday, according to NOAA.
    Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Finally, Richards is cast as Cheryl Dreason, a talented and compassionate pediatric surgeon still grieving the loss of her son but has worked hard to rebuild her life.
    Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Filming is due to begin this September in Italy with casting discussions underway.
    Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The reaction by members of Greenland's parliament and residents has rendered that unlikely, with anger erupting over the Trump administration’s attempts to annex the vast Arctic island.
    PHILIP CROWTHER, Time, 28 Mar. 2025
  • In recent weeks, employees worked with uncertainty amid signs that the likelihood of Mount Spurr, a volcano near Anchorage, erupting in the next few weeks or months had increased.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Practice deep breathing techniques (try inhaling for four seconds and exhaling for six).
    Diana Lowe, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025
  • Inhale for five counts and exhale for five counts while pumping your arms up and down.
    Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • However, Ava didn't go down without a fight and threatened to out Deborah's secret.
    Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Phil, who requested his last name not be used for privacy reasons, was 70 years old when an acquaintance outed him against his will to his Pittsburgh neighborhood.
    Riley Robinson, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Here’s a breakdown by style: A soft cheese, such as a wheel of brie should be cut in wedges radiating from the center so that everyone gets an even piece including a piece of the rind.
    Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Step into an interior that radiates grandeur, featuring soaring ceilings and top-tier finishes.
    Rowan Briggs, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The app spits out benchmarking scores for five things: single-core CPU performance, multi-core CPU performance, 2D graphics performance using GDI, 3D graphics performance using OpenGL, and disk speed (broken into four sub-benchmarks for sequential and random read and write performance).
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 31 Mar. 2025
  • While the software does issue a disclaimer before spitting out its design, seemingly to avoid trademark issues, some fair-use hawks are not convinced.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 28 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • For many parts of the U.S., banishing cars simply isn’t realistic in the absence of comprehensive public transportation and high-density redesigns that often lack political or taxpayer backing.
    Megha Satyanarayana, Scientific American, 21 Mar. 2025
  • Patrick, born Roman, raised Welsh, and famously credited with banishing snakes from Ireland (a reptilian issue geology had resolved millennia before) dominates the global imagination.
    Gemma Allen, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Expel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expel. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.

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