as in classes
one of the segments of society into which people are grouped
a member of the upper caste
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of castes
The Ramayana has hundreds of versions — across states, dialects, castes.
—
Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
If found guilty, these men could face harsher punishments under Indian laws designed to protect disadvantaged castes.
—Esha Mitra, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
Civil confrontations invariably cross classes and castes, bringing together people from radically different social cohorts while separating seemingly natural allies.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
They were designed to help the backward castes under the untouchables and so forth, and then expanded to some other groups.
—Ananya Vajpeyi, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2016
Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
If found guilty, these men could face harsher punishments under Indian laws designed to protect disadvantaged castes.
—Esha Mitra, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
Civil confrontations invariably cross classes and castes, bringing together people from radically different social cohorts while separating seemingly natural allies.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
They were designed to help the backward castes under the untouchables and so forth, and then expanded to some other groups.
—Ananya Vajpeyi, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for castes
Noun
-
Many students rely on social media platforms to access online classes, research materials and collaborative learning tools.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
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His long-term plans are to add a chocolate program and offer pastry-making classes, something he’s done in the past at a Tustin cooking school and on his own Rull’s Kitchen YouTube channel that has more than 12,000 subscribers.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In some cases, triglyceride levels rose by factors of 100 or more.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
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Beets should be consumed 60 to 90 minutes before a workout to let nitrate levels peak.—
Stephanie Brown,
Verywell Health,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Americans’ success was frustrating to Iran’s high echelons.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
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But the Fed’s diversity problem hasn’t just been at the upper echelons of the institution.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Pundits have always dominated the ranks of posters on social media, but now the masses of silent followers are declining, and continued posting risks preaching to accounts of the converted, the disengaged, or the defunct.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
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First of all, the franchise has tended to pull its season leads from its own ranks over the years, with many Bachelorette stars having previously competed on The Bachelor, and vice versa.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Castes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/castes. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.
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