chandala means A person involved in the disposal of corpses, traditionally a lower-caste Hindu and considered untouchable. It carries an Arena rating of 1324, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, chandala ranks #260 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #481 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,053 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,212 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
Why “chandala” is a great word
A person whose hereditary role involves the disposal of the dead, placing them in the most extreme category of ritual impurity and untouchability within traditional Hindu society. From Sanskrit चण्डाल (caṇḍāla) or चाण्डाल (cāṇḍāla), referring to an outcaste or a person of a degraded mixed caste. Unlike 'pariah'—a general term for any social outcast—or 'Śūdra'—the servant class within the fourfold varna system—the chandala is defined by a specific, polluting duty that exiles them completely from the social order. It is the figure seen from a distance at burning ghats, the hands that touch what no one else will, the living consequence of society’s necessary, horrifying transactions with mortality—a human boundary-marker for everything the community must expel to imagine itself pure.
Etymology
From Sanskrit चण्डाल (caṇḍāla) or चाण्डाल (cāṇḍāla).
noun
- A person involved in the disposal of corpses, traditionally a lower-caste Hindu and considered untouchable.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- bhangi 68% match — A member of the Bhangi caste, traditionally restricted to cleaning latrines and handling dead bodies vs chandala →
- dhome 65% match — A member of a low-ranking Indian caste traditionally employed in carrying dead bodies, removing carrion, etc. vs chandala →
- dalit 64% match — A member of a South Asian group of people traditionally regarded as untouchables or outcastes. vs chandala →
- chuhra 64% match — A member of the Chuhra caste in India vs chandala →
- charan 61% match — A member of a caste of people in Rajasthan and Gujarat, considered by large section of society to be divine. vs chandala →
- avarna 60% match — Someone outside the caste system, especially a Dalit or member of a tribal group. vs chandala →
- chaurasia 58% match — A member of a Brahmin caste community in India. vs chandala →
- shudra 58% match — A member of the Hindu varna (caste) of workers. vs chandala →