Skip to content
GREMockTests
GRE vocabulary

pariah

nounHigh-frequency wordMore P words

a person rejected and despised by society

Word origin: From Tamil paraiyar, a low-caste group of drummers in southern India.

Test your vocabulary in a real test Full-length · no signup · instant score
In a sentence

Pariah in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing pariah in a sentence.

After the scandal, the once-celebrated banker became a social pariah.

After the fraud came to light, the once-celebrated executive became a pariah in financial circles.

Synonyms
outcastuntouchableleperexile
Antonyms

None listed.

Usage & nuance

Using “pariah” well

Pariah denotes total social rejection, someone shunned and despised, not merely unpopular or disliked.

Common questions

Questions about “pariah

Pariah (noun) means a person rejected and despised by society
Here is pariah used in an example sentence: "After the scandal, the once-celebrated banker became a social pariah." Another example: "After the fraud came to light, the once-celebrated executive became a pariah in financial circles."
Common synonyms for pariah include outcast, untouchable, leper, exile.
On the GRE, pariah clusters with outcast, untouchable, leper, and exile in Sentence Equivalence.
Yes. Pariah is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

See these words the way the GRE tests them.

Definitions in isolation do not stick. Sit a free, full-length GRE mock and meet this vocabulary inside real text completion and sentence equivalence questions, with your score and a worked solution for every answer.