noun / adjective
outcast
OWT-kast/ˈaʊtkˌæst/
Someone rejected or excluded by a group or society.
The group shuts the young man out, treating him as an outcast.
Etymology
The pieces give the image of someone “thrown outside.” The noun names a person cast out or expelled, making exclusion from a community the central idea of social rejection.
In context
‘Give me work,’ said I, ‘for I am an outcast among my own kind, and my cousin’s blood is wet on my sabre.’
More examples
- Her former friends treat her as an outcast after the argument.
- The club welcomes people who feel like social outcasts.
- The outcast student eats alone after his classmates reject him.
Forms
outcast · outcasts
Similar words
- pariah
- Usually implies stronger contempt or avoidance than outcast.
- outsider
- May simply not belong, without having been actively rejected.