plural pariahs
1
: someone or something that is despised or rejected : outcast
She is a pariah within the Republican Party for doing something she grew up believing the Republican Party stood for …—
Ed Montini
Ed MontiniA nation, it seemed, had become a global pariah overnight.—Adam Westbrook and Kirk Semple
Adam Westbrook and Kirk SempleNote: Although sense 1 is in common use and is not usually regarded as offensive by Western English speakers, it is highly inflammatory to many people of Indian descent due to its close association with the offensive caste-related meaning of sense 2.
2
dated, offensive
: a member of a low caste of southern India
Examples of pariah in a Sentence
For decades, African states longed for the day when South Africa would be liberated from its status as the apartheid pariah and become the economic engine that would pull Africa out of its mire of poverty and underdevelopment, much as Japan did for the Pacific Rim.
—Allister Sparks, Wilson Quarterly, Spring 2001
Once they began to migrate to the United States, especially after this country conferred citizenship on them in 1917, they discovered what it meant to be a pariah in the country that had adopted them.
—John Hope Franklin, "The Land of Room Enough," 1981,
in Race and History, 1989
Even as her star was rising in the outside world, she was becoming more and more a pariah in her own village, where her isolation and sense of rejection made her, for a time, a prisoner in her house, a victim of agoraphobia.
—Judy Oppenheimer, New York Times Book Review, 3 July 1988
He's a talented player but his angry outbursts have made him a pariah in the sport of baseball.
I felt like a pariah when I wore the wrong outfit to the dinner party.
Allister Sparks, Wilson Quarterly, Spring 2001
Once they began to migrate to the United States, especially after this country conferred citizenship on them in 1917, they discovered what it meant to be a pariah in the country that had adopted them.
—John Hope Franklin, "The Land of Room Enough," 1981,
in Race and History, 1989
Even as her star was rising in the outside world, she was becoming more and more a pariah in her own village, where her isolation and sense of rejection made her, for a time, a prisoner in her house, a victim of agoraphobia.
—Judy Oppenheimer, New York Times Book Review, 3 July 1988
He's a talented player but his angry outbursts have made him a pariah in the sport of baseball.
I felt like a pariah when I wore the wrong outfit to the dinner party.
Recent Examples on the Web
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he had been treated as a pariah by the United States and Europe.
—Alexandra Vacroux, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
Not that the townspeople, who treat him like some sort of true pariah, are much better.
—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
Some will move cynically, making the calculation that accommodation with the Palestinian population is preferable to being a permanent international pariah.
—Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Being seen as open to a Palestinian state would help Israel avoid pariah status around the world, a reality that is gaining momentum as a reaction to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
—Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pariah
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Alexandra Vacroux, Twin Cities, 11 Sep. 2025
Not that the townspeople, who treat him like some sort of true pariah, are much better.
—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
Some will move cynically, making the calculation that accommodation with the Palestinian population is preferable to being a permanent international pariah.
—Jack Sheehan
september 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Being seen as open to a Palestinian state would help Israel avoid pariah status around the world, a reality that is gaining momentum as a reaction to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
—Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pariah
Cite this Entry
“Pariah.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pariah. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share