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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.

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.

Learn words the way the GRE tests them.

Vocabulary sticks when you meet it in real sentences. Practise these words inside text completion and sentence equivalence questions.