PARIAH Synonyms: 11 Similar and Opposite Words

pariah

noun

pə-ˈrī-ə

Definition of pariah

as in outcast

one who is cast out or rejected by society I felt like a pariah when I wore the wrong outfit to the dinner party

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

insider

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pariah Trump plans to revive talks over North Korea’s nuclear program and wants to meet with the pariah state’s dictator this year, The Wall Street Journal reported. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Attorneys representing Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour say despite cooperating with investigators, their clients have effectively become pariahs in their hometown and have been subjected to death threats and defamation. — Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026 Don’t choose this option If that road to peace is permanently closed, as Netanyahu’s coalition intends, Israel will condemn itself to perpetual warfare and to being a pariah nation in a friendless world. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2026 Among the blunders of the first round was to turn Iran from a pariah state into a sympathetic one. — Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for pariah

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pariah

Noun

Zero Company meaningfully explores these themes, using a ragtag band of outcasts as a filter to view them.

— Hayes Madsen, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
This quartet of unlikely rock stars traveled across the country and around the world connecting with the disenfranchised everywhere, while sparking a movement that would resonate with two generations of outcasts across the globe.

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of outcast

Noun

The best part of the movie is Murray Bartlett’s wise leper, a man who for the vast majority of his screen time is covered head to toe.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Robin also strikes up a friendship with a soulful, philosophical leper (Murray Bartlett, covered in wrappings from head to toe), who somehow recognizes his good qualities.

— Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 11 June 2026

Definition of leper

Noun

And both the immune and eliminated designers are high on their own power; Elizabeth, in particular, is acting mighty haughty for a woman whose ruffled scarlet satin dress looks like a reject from the Westworld costume department.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 July 2026
The most opinionated of these rejects is Smarty Pants, a basic toilet-training tech tool given an amusingly snarky attitude by Conan O’Brien.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026