Library / English Dictionary

EXPEL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: expelled    , expelling   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Eliminate (a substance)

Example:

the plant releases a gas

Synonyms:

discharge; eject; exhaust; expel; release

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "expel"):

breathe; emit; pass off (expel (gases or odors))

fester; maturate; suppurate (ripen and generate pus)

eruct; spew; spew out (eject or send out in large quantities, also metaphorical)

bleed; hemorrhage; shed blood (lose blood from one's body)

egest; eliminate; excrete; pass (eliminate from the body)

ovulate (produce and discharge eggs)

abort (terminate a pregnancy by undergoing an abortion)

ejaculate (eject semen)

blow (free of obstruction by blowing air through)

cough out; cough up; expectorate; spit out; spit up (discharge (phlegm or sputum) from the lungs and out of the mouth)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

expelling (any of several bodily processes by which substances go out of the body)

expulsion (the act of expelling or projecting or ejecting)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause to flee

Example:

rout out the fighters from their caves

Synonyms:

expel; rout; rout out

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "expel" is one way to...):

defeat; get the better of; overcome (win a victory over)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Remove from a position or office

Example:

The chairman was ousted after he misappropriated funds

Synonyms:

boot out; drum out; expel; kick out; oust; throw out

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "expel" is one way to...):

remove (remove from a position or an office)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "expel"):

excommunicate (oust or exclude from a group or membership by decree)

depose; force out (force to leave (an office))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

expulsion (the act of forcing out someone or something)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Force to leave or move out

Example:

He was expelled from his native country

Synonyms:

expel; kick out; throw out

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "expel" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "expel"):

boot out; chuck out; eject; exclude; turf out; turn out (put out or expel from a place)

deport; exile; expatriate (expel from a country)

debar; suspend (bar temporarily; from school, office, etc.)

deliver; deport; extradite (hand over to the authorities of another country)

banish; bar; relegate (expel, as if by official decree)

ban; banish; blackball; cast out; ostracise; ostracize; shun (expel from a community or group)

ban; banish (ban from a place of residence, as for punishment)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

expulsion (the act of forcing out someone or something)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Usually, the mouthwash is swished around the mouth and expelled.

(Mouthwash Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

A planetary nebula is an expanding shell of glowing gas expelled by a star late in its life.

(Hubble Detects Giant 'Cannonballs' Shooting from Star, NASA)

Probably you would do nothing of the sort: but if you did, Mr. Brocklehurst would expel you from the school; that would be a great grief to your relations.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Whether it was merely the expelled breath, or his consciousness of his growing impotence, I know not, but his throat vibrated with a deep groan.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He was nearly expelled over a card scandal in his first year.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Ministers began to preach sermons against "Ephemera," and one, who too stoutly stood for much of its content, was expelled for heresy.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The pressure of starlight from the star, which is 23 times more luminous than the Sun, then expelled the dust far into space.

(Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A, NASA)

Upon activation of an appropriate valve system, the liquid is expelled into the air, the propellant is vaporized and the ingredients are dispersed.

(Aerosol Solution Dosage Form, NCI Thesaurus)

Expelling modified air from the lungs; breathing out.

(Expiration, NCI Thesaurus)

All products of conception are expelled and identified.

(Complete Abortion, Food and Drug Administration)