outcast

¹

[ out-kast, -kahst ]

noun

1. a person who is rejected or cast out, as from home or society:

   In the beginning the area was settled by outcasts, adventurers, and felons.

   Synonyms: pariah, leper, expatriate, refugee, exile

2. rejected matter; refuse.

adjective

1. cast out, as from one's home or society:

   an outcast son.

2. pertaining to or characteristic of an outcast:

   outcast misery.

3. rejected or discarded:

   outcast opinions.

outcast

²

[ out-kast, -kahst ]

noun

, Scot.

1. a falling out; quarrel.

outcast

/ ˈaʊtˌkɑːst /

noun

1. a person who is rejected or excluded from a social group
2. a vagabond or wanderer
3. anything thrown out or rejected

adjective

1. rejected, abandoned, or discarded; cast out

Word History and Origins

Origin of outcast¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English outcast(e), outecaste; out-, + cast ( def )

Origin of outcast²

1590–1600; noun use of verb phrase ( Scottish ) cast out

Example Sentences

It is no wonder that he constantly preached about our welcome of the stranger and our compassion for the outcast.

From The Daily Beast

Outcast by his family, fired from his job and on the run, he says his life is in pieces.

From The Daily Beast

“When you leave Lampo, you become an ‘outcast’ regardless of the reasons,” another former employee said.

From The Daily Beast

This tension between outcast and overlord is at the heart of our sweeping change into a tech-driven, spiritually infused economy.

From The Daily Beast

Then Mr. Wilde told Vance he could go; and he went, shambling like an outcast of the slums.

From The Daily Beast

There is, perhaps, in this childish suffering often something more than the sense of being homeless and outcast.

From Project Gutenberg

The tattered outcast dozes on his bench while the chariot of the wealthy is drawn by.

From Project Gutenberg

The poem entitled The Outcast expresses this feeling of mysterious remorse and unending and unavailing expiation.

From Project Gutenberg

One was Enid Vane's sweet childish face, as she thrust her shilling with the hole in it into the little outcast's hand.

From Project Gutenberg

I humbly returned thanks to God for the privilege of ministering to the wants of this his outcast, despised and persecuted image.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fugitive
• untouchable
• vagabond