Pariah

Quick meaning: Pariah is a noun meaning (figurative) A similarly despised group of people or species of animal.

Meaning

(figurative) A similarly despised group of people or species of animal.

More Meanings

1. (zoology) Ellipsis of pariah dog (“an Indian breed, any stray dog in Indian contexts”).
2. Synonym of outcast: A person despised and excluded by their family, community, or society, especially a member of the untouchable castes in Indian society.

Example Sentences

I’m a pariah, outlawed from Time Lord society.

[…] I went from being a much-feted author to a pariah, since one of the many problems of being trashed on the front page of the New York Times is that everyone is in the know.

This scenario could lead to war crimes the scale of which has not been seen in Europe since the Nazis — crimes that would make Vladimir Putin, his cronies and Russia as a country all global pariahs.

What is this smoking that it should be considered a crime? I believe in my heart that women are jealous of it, as of a rival. They speak of it as of some secret, awful vice that seizes upon a man, and makes him a Pariah from genteel society.

Word Forms

• pariahs

Synonyms for pariah

Depending on context, synonyms include outcast, castaway.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include castaway, outcast, punk, hoodlum, thug, mugger.

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