outcasts
Society's rejected members
Outcasts are people who have been rejected or excluded from a group or community.
The word suggests both the act of being cast out and the resulting social position—someone living on the margins, denied belonging.
It can describe literal exile or metaphorical alienation: The rebels became outcasts, unwelcome in their homeland.
The term often carries sympathy for those rejected.
Excluded from a group
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
- banishedForced to leave permanently
- expelledOfficially removed or banished
- rejectedRefused or turned away
alienated · blackballed · blacklisted · excommunicated · exiled · disowned · proscribed · persona non grata
One shunned for illness
- untouchableExempt from criticism or harm
- castawayShipwrecked and stranded person
- anathemaIntensely detested thing
- rejectDismiss as unsuitable
outsider · undesirable · black sheep · scapegoat · exile · deportee · refugee · stateless
Deprived of voting rights
- stigmatizedMarked with social shame
- discriminatedTreated unequally based on category
- underservedInsufficiently provided for
- neglectedNot given proper attention
overlooked · voiceless · powerless · dispossessed · vulnerable · peripheral · sidelined · invisible
Opposer of established systems
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- iconoclastAttacker of cherished beliefs
- hereticChallenger of official doctrine
renegade · defector · apostate · contrarian · misfit · dropout · bohemian · eccentric
ostracized
Excluded from a group
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
- banishedForced to leave permanently
- expelledOfficially removed or banished
rejected · alienated · blackballed · blacklisted · excommunicated · exiled · disowned · proscribed · persona non grata · turned away
leper
One shunned for illness
- untouchableExempt from criticism or harm
- castawayShipwrecked and stranded person
- anathemaIntensely detested thing
reject · outsider · undesirable · black sheep · scapegoat · exile · deportee · refugee · stateless · displaced
disenfranchised
Deprived of voting rights
- stigmatizedMarked with social shame
- discriminatedTreated unequally based on category
- underservedInsufficiently provided for
neglected · overlooked · voiceless · powerless · dispossessed · vulnerable · peripheral · sidelined · invisible · oppressed
dissident
Opposer of established systems
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
- iconoclastAttacker of cherished beliefs
heretic · renegade · defector · apostate · contrarian · misfit · dropout · bohemian · eccentric · counterculture
- outcastspariah, pariahs, outlaws, castaway, derelicts
- exclusionexclude, excluded, banned, bans, eliminate
- Nonconformistsnonconformist, rebels, rebel, misfits, misfit
- social exclusionclique, in-group, inner circle, outsider, exclusion
- outsidersoutsider, pariah, misfit, outlaw, stranger
- exclusionsexclude, exclusion, excluding, except, exception
outcastsinsiders
Those with special access
members · friends · compatriots · comrades · community members
outcastselites
Privileged powerful groups
favorites · idols · celebrities · luminaries · VIPs
outcastspower brokers
Hidden political influencers
inner circle · kingmakers · influencers · movers and shakers · decision-makers