Shadowban
//ˈʃædoʊbæn// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An instance of shadowbanning. Internet
"Is there any basis for the idea that conservatives are being targeted for shadow bans? No – at least not based on what Vice purported to show."
Verb
- 1 To ban a user from a community without their knowledge, allowing them to continue reading and commenting, but rendering their contributions invisible or less visible to other users. Internet, transitive
"On Wednesday a Vice News story reported that some senior Republican officials were not visible in automatic search results. Vice framed this as “shadow banning” without providing any evidence that it was deliberate."
- 2 To filter out results without the publisher's knowledge. Internet, transitive
Example
More examples"On Wednesday a Vice News story reported that some senior Republican officials were not visible in automatic search results. Vice framed this as “shadow banning” without providing any evidence that it was deliberate."
Etymology
From shadow + ban.
Related phrases
More for "shadowban"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.