untouchable
Americanadjective
-
that may not be touched; of a nature such that it cannot be touched; not palpable; intangible.
-
too distant to be touched.
-
vile or loathsome to the touch.
-
beyond criticism, control, or suspicion.
Modern writers consider no subject untouchable.
noun
-
untouchables
plural
-
Hinduism. the former name given to a member of the lowest castes in India whose touch was believed to defile a high-caste Hindu.
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a person who is beyond reproach as to honesty, diligence, etc.
-
a person disregarded or shunned by society or a particular group; social outcast.
political untouchables.
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a person or thing considered inviolable or beyond criticism.
such untouchables as Social Security in the federal budget.
adjective
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lying beyond reach
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above reproach, suspicion, or impeachment
-
unable to be touched
noun
Usage
In relation to the caste system, the term untouchable is banned in both the Indian and Pakistani constitutions
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of untouchable
Vocabulary lists containing untouchable
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
First came his development into an untouchable time-trial specialist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
He says that after scoring he plays "off adrenaline" and "goes into an untouchable mode of confidence".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
At the lower levels of the minors, Tugboat was practically untouchable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Mozeliak said he does not believe any player should be untouchable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
This is the problem with being so beautiful—it can render you untouchable.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
“There shouldn’t be some sort of untouchables list of people who are immune from enforcement.”
From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026
By the end of the regular season he had moved from luxury to necessity, ballooning into the conversation as one of the Lakers Big Three untouchables.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2025
"Many in parliament think of themselves as untouchables, who think the ordinary rules do not apply to them," said Michiel van Hulten, director of the Brussels office of Transparency International.
From Reuters ● Dec. 20, 2022
In the end, history will remember Diana in broad strokes: a beautiful princess, a lonely marriage, a champion of the hurt and disenfranchised, a woman who touched the untouchables.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2022
But also they were outlaws, enemies, untouchables, doomed with absolute certainty to extinction within a year or two.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
