Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun One that has been excluded from a society or system.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Cast out; thrown away; rejected; hence, forsaken; forlorn; miserable; specifically, despised socially.
  • noun That which is thrown away or cast forth; refuse.
  • noun A person expelled or driven out; an exile; one who is rejected or despised.
  • noun A falling out; a quarrel.
  • noun In malting and brewing, increase by measure in the bulk of malt as compared with the bulk of the unmalted grain from which the malt was made. It is generally computed in bushels, and varies from 3 to 8 per cent.
  • noun Material ejected; specifically, in astronomy, ejected matter which lies outside of the nucleus of the sun.
  • To throw out; cast forth; expel; reject.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Cast out; degraded.
  • noun One who is cast out or expelled; an exile; one driven from home, society, or country; hence, often, a degraded person; a vagabond.
  • noun Scot. A quarrel; a contention.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person who is rejected (from society or home)
  • adjective excluded from a society

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From out- +‎ cast.

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Examples

  • Yes, like the swan who is supposed to mate for life, the Prince will be flying the nest, an outcast from the flock, left to preen his ruffled feathers and wish he had some vital organ he could reclaim like that sad bloke in America.

    Prince Philip To Divorce Dungeekin 2009

  • In fact, Christine has more than one thing in common with Peter Parker — “Drag Me to Hell” is all about an outcast from a broken home learning to gain confidence and become an adult.

    “Drag Me to Hell” a hell of a lot of fun » Scene-Stealers 2009

  • Enter Yeine, whose family had been outcast from the Arameri Family and the city of Sky, is designated a successor to the throne, and plunged into a complicated dance of politics, family drama and larger forces at work within the structure of the world.

    REVIEW: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin 2010

  • I get to do that now with my two children; before they came along, I sought to do that with the people who came to my church, who read my books, who listened to my music, who lent their precious and rare attention to what I had to say, even at a time when I was being called an outcast.

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • I get to do that now with my two children; before they came along, I sought to do that with the people who came to my church, who read my books, who listened to my music, who lent their precious and rare attention to what I had to say, even at a time when I was being called an outcast.

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • I get to do that now with my two children; before they came along, I sought to do that with the people who came to my church, who read my books, who listened to my music, who lent their precious and rare attention to what I had to say, even at a time when I was being called an outcast.

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • I get to do that now with my two children; before they came along, I sought to do that with the people who came to my church, who read my books, who listened to my music, who lent their precious and rare attention to what I had to say, even at a time when I was being called an outcast.

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • It seems being seen as an outcast is far more lucrative.

    USATODAY.com 2002

  • Himself he calls their outcast, yet declares that he is ready to be immolated for their sake, and says they were persons who had found mercy, but he a condemned man: they were strengthening in grace, but he struggling in the midst of dangers.

    The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints January, February, March Alban Butler

  • Will my spirit fly upward to a happy heaven? or shall I sink into the bottomless pit, an outcast from a God of infinite love?

    American Indian Stories 1921

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