outcast

¹ American  

[out-kast, -kahst] / ˈaʊtˌkæst, -ˌkɑst /

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.

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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 American  

[out-kast, -kahst] / ˈaʊtˌkæst, -ˌkɑst /

noun

Scot.

1. a falling out; quarrel.

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outcast British  

/ 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

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adjective

1. rejected, abandoned, or discarded; cast out

Etymology

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

“Call you outcast, low down, you can’t make it, you’re nothing, you’re from nobody, subclass, underclass; when you see Jesse Jackson, when my name goes in nomination, your name goes in nomination.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 17, 2026

Sparta star to Gladbach outcast - who is Cvancara as Celtic confirm deal?

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026

She said that I was stingy and mean, an outcast at life’s rich feast.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 2025

The Yautja are a ruthless culture whose warriors take pride in hunting alone, and Dek’s stubborn adherence to those rules, even as an outcast, is nearly his undoing.

From Salon • Nov. 12, 2025

Somehow, now that I had once crossed the threshold of this house, and once was brought face to face with its owners, I felt no longer outcast, vagrant, and disowned by the wide world.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• fugitive
• untouchable
• vagabond