1. the omission that is made when an editorial change shortens a written passage;
"an editor's deletions frequently upset young authors"
"both parties agreed on the excision of the proposed clause"
2. surgical removal of a body part or tissue
3. the act of banishing a member of the Church from the communion of believers and the privileges of the Church; cutting a person off from a religious society
4. the act of pulling up or out; uprooting; cutting off from existence