ETYM Latin excommunicatio: cf. French excommunication.
1. The act of banishing a member of the Church from the communion of believers and the privileges of the Church.
2. The state of being excommunicated; SYN. exclusion, censure.
In religion, exclusion of an offender from the rights and privileges of the Roman Catholic Church. The English monarchs King John, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I were all excommunicated.