othered
Treated as alien
Othered describes being treated as fundamentally different or alien from a dominant group.
Someone who has been othered feels excluded, marginalized, or cast as an outsider: As the only immigrant in her class, she felt constantly othered.
The term comes from sociology and identity politics, where othering describes how groups define themselves by distinguishing "us" from "them."
Treated unequally based on category
- disenfranchisedDeprived of voting rights
- stigmatizedMarked with social shame
- oppressedTreated with cruel control
- disadvantagedLacking social or economic resources
underprivileged · minoritized · scapegoated · peripheral · neglected · underrepresented · sidelined · voiceless
Excluded from a group
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
- outcastShunned, rejected person
- rejectedRefused or turned away
- banishedForced to leave permanently
excommunicated · expelled · blackballed · blacklisted · snubbed · spurned · disowned · exiled
State of being isolated
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
- isolationComplete separation from others
- displacementRemoval from usual location
- disaffectionLoss of loyalty
rejection · separation · disconnection · detachment · exclusion · loneliness · apartness · removal
Non-native person
- outsiderOne excluded from group
- alienNon-native being
- strangerPerson not yet known
- immigrantOne who resettles abroad
refugee · migrant · interloper · barbarian · infidel · heathen · unassimilated · noncitizen
discriminated
Treated unequally based on category
- disenfranchisedDeprived of voting rights
- stigmatizedMarked with social shame
- oppressedTreated with cruel control
disadvantaged · underprivileged · minoritized · scapegoated · peripheral · neglected · underrepresented · sidelined · voiceless · invisible
ostracized
Excluded from a group
banished · excommunicated · expelled · blackballed · blacklisted · snubbed · spurned · disowned · exiled · cast out
alienation
State of being isolated
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
- isolationComplete separation from others
- displacementRemoval from usual location
disaffection · rejection · separation · disconnection · detachment · exclusion · loneliness · apartness · removal · distancing
foreigner
Non-native person
immigrant · refugee · migrant · interloper · barbarian · infidel · heathen · unassimilated · noncitizen · stateless
- social outcastsoutcast, pariah, loner, hermit, recluse
- wrongedabused, mistreated, victimized, exploited, oppressed
otherednormalized
Adjusted to standard measure
unmarked · centered · default · mainstream · privileged
- each otherReciprocal reference phrase
- the other dayRecent past, unspecified
- on the other handPhrase introducing contrast
- every otherEach second one
- in other wordsRestating for clarity
- other sideContrary position or location
other, another, others, otherwise, otherworldly, othering, otherness