From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbanishban‧ish /ˈbænɪʃ/ ●○○ verb [transitive] 1 FORBIDto not allow someone or something to stay in a particular placebanish somebody/something from/to something I was banished to a distant corridor.2 PGCLEAVE YOUR HOME/COUNTRYto send someone away permanently from their country or the area where they live, especially as an official punishment SYN exilebanish somebody from/to Thousands were banished to Siberia.3 THINK ABOUT literary to try to stop thinking about something or someonebanish the memory/thought/image etc (of somebody/something) They tried to banish the memory from their minds. —banishment noun [uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
banish• The study should banish any doubts about women's ability to handle the pressures of business.• That partly explains why he was banished at the insistence of the United States and replaced by Annan.• All such speculations were banished by the sight that met his eyes as they followed the Doctor's pointing finger.• Government regulation did not end inequality or banish corporate influence in politics.• Then there followed four episodes that banished his depression.• We think we know it all now, and banish our far-flung ideas from this world into Space.• The only way to banish the bogeyman was to look him in the eye without flinching.• Napoleon was banished to the island of St Helena in 1815.banish somebody from/to• Many Soviet dissidents were banished to Siberia.banish the memory/thought/image etc (of somebody/something)• She thrust her eyes open, as if she would banish the image from them.• Yet, even doing something she so loved, she couldn't quite banish the memories.Origin banish (1300-1400) Old French banir 