untouchability

American  

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

noun

Hinduism.

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of untouchability

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

Example Sentences

"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

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

It has retained a sense of untouchability.

From BBC

And yet Ridley-Thomas shares with the former president an aura of untouchability, of being above the law.

From Los Angeles Times

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