undesirables
Society's rejected ones
Undesirables are people considered unwanted or objectionable by those in power or by mainstream society.
The term has historically targeted marginalized groups—immigrants, the poor, criminals, or those deemed morally deviant: The neighborhood association sought to keep out undesirables.
The word carries a clinical coldness that dehumanizes, often signaling prejudice dressed in bureaucratic language.
Socially rejected individuals
- exilesBanished persons
- misfitsThose who don't belong
- refugeesPeople seeking safety elsewhere
- vagrantsHomeless itinerant people
deportees · fugitives · dissidents · heretics · displaced · stateless · banished · castoffs
Not allowed
- bannedOfficially disallowed
- blacklistedFormally excluded or barred
- barredBlocked from entry
- excludedShut out, denied entry
off-limits · proscribed · debarred · vetoed · disallowed · restricted · censored · taboo
Without formal welcome
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
- spurnedRejected with contempt
- ostracizedExcluded from a group
- unpopularNot liked by many
unfavored · rejected · rebuffed · snubbed · cold-shouldered · avoided · ignored · persona non grata
pariahs
Socially rejected individuals
vagrants · deportees · fugitives · dissidents · heretics · displaced · stateless · banished · castoffs · lepers
forbidden
Not allowed
- bannedOfficially disallowed
- blacklistedFormally excluded or barred
- barredBlocked from entry
excluded · off-limits · proscribed · debarred · vetoed · disallowed · restricted · censored · taboo · verboten
uninvited
Without formal welcome
- shunnedPersistently avoided socially
- spurnedRejected with contempt
- ostracizedExcluded from a group
unpopular · unfavored · rejected · rebuffed · snubbed · cold-shouldered · avoided · ignored · persona non grata · turned away
undesirablesdesirables
Things worth having
honored guests · pillars of the community · insiders · invitees · the elect
undesirableselites
Privileged powerful groups
dignitaries · high society · luminaries · notables · pillars of society