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- Dictionaryos·tra·cism/ˈästrəˌsiz(ə)m/
noun
- 1. exclusion from a society or group: "the family suffered social ostracism"
- 2. (in ancient Greece) temporary banishment from a city by popular vote.
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noun
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Procedure under the Athenian democracy in which a citizen could be expelled from Athens for 10 years
Ostracism was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the citizen, ostracism was often used preemptively. It was used as a way of neutralizing someone thought to be a threat to the state or a potential tyrant, though in many cases popular opinion often informed the e... Wikipedia