outcast
UK: ˈaʊtkɑːst | US: ˈaʊtkæst
n. a person who has been rejected or excluded from a group or society
adj. rejected or cast out
The word "outcast" originates from Middle English, combining "out" (meaning external or beyond) and "cast" (meaning thrown or expelled). It originally described someone literally "cast out" of a community, often due to social or moral transgressions. Over time, it evolved to encompass broader forms of rejection or exclusion, retaining its vivid imagery of physical expulsion.
After the scandal, he became an outcast in his hometown.
She felt like an outcast at the new school.
The novel’s protagonist is a misunderstood outcast.
Many refugees live as outcasts in foreign lands.
His radical ideas made him an outcast among his peers.