untouchability

American

[uhn-tuhch-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌʌn tʌtʃ əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

Hinduism.

the quality or condition of being an untouchable, ascribed in the Vedic tradition to persons of low caste or to persons excluded from the caste system.

Etymology

Origin of untouchability

First recorded in 1920–25; untouch(able) + -ability

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:

untouchability

There is a bizarre universe built around the prestige and untouchability of the court that is first and foremost perpetuated by the people on the court.

From Slate ● May 13, 2026

"Bringing it up in a team meeting was indicative of the power and untouchability that he felt," observed South African journalist Neil Manthorp.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2025

In December, she wrote that the “assassins…feel that their reign of impunity and untouchability seems to be coming to an end.”

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2024

Besides abolishing untouchability, successive governments have introduced legislation to curb caste-based violence and to provide lower caste groups opportunities they were denied for centuries.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 21, 2022

We watch as Janine enters the roped-off enclosure, in her veil of untouchability, of bad luck.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023