untouchable

 
Pronunciation: /ʌnˈtʌtʃəb(ə)l/

adjective

  • 1not able or allowed to be touched or affected: drug barons who were legally untouchable
  • unable to be matched or rivalled: when the band retreat to ambience and minimalism, they are untouchable
  • 2of or belonging to the lowest-caste Hindu group or the people outside the caste system.

noun

  • a member of the lowest-caste Hindu group or a person outside the caste system, contact with whom is traditionally held to defile members of higher castes.

Derivatives

untouchability

Pronunciation: /-ˈbɪlɪti/
noun

In senses relating to the traditional Hindu caste system, the term untouchable and the social restrictions accompanying it were declared illegal in the constitution of India in 1949 and of Pakistan in 1953. The official term today is scheduled caste.