untouchability

noun

un·​touch·​abil·​i·​ty ˌən-ˌtə-chə-ˈbi-lə-tē How to pronounce untouchability (audio)
: the quality or state of being untouchable
especially : the state of being an untouchable

Examples of untouchability in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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More than a century later, the battle inspired the author of India's Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, on his crusade to abolish untouchability and to write affirmative action into Indian law. Lauren Frayer, NPR, 2 June 2024 This was astonishing—a sign of Lamar’s untouchability, and of growing pains for a rebellious genre that has become an institution. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024 Maybe not even Serbian untouchability. Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2021 The Indian Constitution of 1950 had officially abolished untouchability, declared caste discrimination a crime, and created affirmative-action quotas for Dalits and indigenous tribes—in part because a formidable Dalit thinker and leader, B. R. Ambedkar, had played a crucial role in writing it. Sunil Khilnani, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2020 During the show, Mr. Sarkar talks about how untouchability was normalized in his home village. Qadri Inzamam, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Oct. 2022 As a newly independent nation, India adopted a constitution in 1950 abolishing untouchability, but caste discrimination remained entrenched in society. Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2022 But after the first phase of the primary season concluded on Tuesday, a month in which a quarter of America’s states cast their ballots, the verdict has been clear: Mr. Trump’s aura of untouchability in Republican politics has been punctured. New York Times, 28 May 2022 Dalit soldiers fighting for the British played a major role in the victory — which came to symbolize the Dalit community’s fight against untouchability. Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of untouchability was in 1919

Dictionary Entries Near untouchability

Cite this Entry

“Untouchability.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/untouchability. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

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