Which noun best describes a social outcast?

• A. Exile
• B. Outcast
• C. Pariah
• D. Misfit

Answer: (C)

Understanding how these words convey social exclusion helps pick the right noun. A pariah is someone who is deliberately shunned or rejected by a community, carrying a sense of ongoing stigma and isolation within that group. That strong social ostracism is what makes it the best fit for describing a social outcast.

Exile focuses more on being banished from a place or homeland, often by authority, rather than on the social rejection by a community. Outcast can work similarly to pariah but often feels broader and less tied to a specific community’s judgment. Misfit describes someone who doesn’t fit in, typically because of behavior or appearance, but it doesn’t necessarily imply that others have actively shunned or ostracized them.

In a sentence: After the scandal, he became a pariah in the town, avoided and shunned by most people.