1
Core meaning
A person or group that is rejected, avoided, or excluded by society or a community.
Example
After exposing the scheme, she became a pariah among former colleagues.
pariah
/pəˈraɪə/ · puh-RYE-uhnoun
A person or group that is rejected, avoided, or excluded by society or a community.
Use pariah to express this relationship precisely: a person or group that is rejected, avoided, or excluded by society or a community.
What pariah Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Common noun frame
Use this noun in a complete noun phrase, adding the complement that identifies what it refers to when needed.
Example
The treaty turned the regime into an international pariah.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact concept matters; a related term may describe its cause, evidence, or opposite instead.
Example
The novel follows a pariah seeking acceptance.
Use pariah Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
After exposing the scheme, she became a pariah among former colleagues.
The treaty turned the regime into an international pariah.
The novel follows a pariah seeking acceptance.
Precision Matters
Pariah overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
pariah
vs.Means a person or group that is rejected, avoided, or excluded by society or a community.
maverick
Means an independent-minded person who rejects a group's usual rules, positions, or conventions.
pariah
vs.Means a person or group that is rejected, avoided, or excluded by society or a community.
beneficiary
Means a person, group, or organisation that receives money, assistance, advantage, or another benefit.
pariah
vs.Means a person or group that is rejected, avoided, or excluded by society or a community.
proponent
Means a person who supports a claim or course of action.
pariah
vs.Means a person or group that is rejected, avoided, or excluded by society or a community.
interlocutor
Means a person who takes part in a conversation, dialogue, interview, or formal discussion.
Test pariah in Context
The executive was rejected and excluded by the community.
1
Once the fraud became public, the celebrated executive became a social ___.