ouster
noun

- the removal or expulsion from a position.

- an act of forcing someone out of a job or an official role.

- the dismissal or displacement of a person from office.

Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionary, Collins Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN


Ouster comes from Anglo-French (the variety of French used in medieval England after the Norman Conquest). It derives from the Old French verb oster or ouster, meaning "to remove, take away, or exclude." This French verb itself traces back to Latin obstare — literally "to stand against" or "to oppose" (from ob- "against" + stare "to stand").

The word entered Middle English legal terminology around the 14th-15th centuries, primarily as a legal term meaning:
- The wrongful dispossession of someone from property or a position they legally hold
- The ejection of someone from an estate or franchise
- The act of removing someone from office or depriving them of an inheritance

Today "ouster" is used both as:
- A legal term (dispossession from property or position)
- A general term for removal from office or position (especially in phrases like "oust from power" or "the ouster of the CEO")

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OUSTED

Silvio Berlusconi (2011) - Italy's flamboyant prime minister resigned amid mounting pressure from financial markets and political opponents during the European debt crisis, with his government losing its parliamentary majority as Italy's borrowing costs soared to unsustainable levels.

Robert Mugabe (2017) - Zimbabwe's president for 37 years was forced to resign after a military coup when he attempted to position his wife as his successor, with his own party and former allies turning against him to end his increasingly authoritarian rule.

Liz Truss (2022)
After only 45 days in office, a financial crisis triggered by her own economic plan led to her resignation. The headlines comparing her tenure to the shelf-life of a lettuce showed how unforgiving public opinion can be.

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SYNONYMS

ax, banishment, booted out, booting out, deposing, deposition, displacement, dispossession, discharge, dismissal, ejection, eviction, exclusion, expulsion, extrusion, firing, forced exit, forced out, given the boot, given walking papers, leadership change, OUSTER, overthrow, purge, pushing out, pushed out, removal, sent packing, shown the door, stepping down (forced), termination, thrown out, unseating

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“The cat’s expression made it clear my chair was no longer mine—I was OUSTED by our house pet.”

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