untouchable means not able to be touched.
untouchable is pronounced /ʌnˈtʌtʃəbəl/.
Why “untouchable” is a great word
Impossible to be physically contacted or, in a figurative sense, to be surpassed or defeated. Formed within English from the prefix 'un-' (meaning "not") and 'touchable' (from 'touch' + '-able', meaning "able to be touched"), the figurative sense "unrivalled" is recorded by 1867; the noun referring to a low caste in India is attested from 1909. Unlike "outcast," which broadly denotes social rejection, or "invincible," which speaks purely to unconquerable might, "untouchable" carries the specific, inherited weight of ritual impurity and a figurative immunity born of exalted, isolated status. It is the chill distance of a museum artifact behind glass, the flawless record of a champion who seems to compete only with ghosts, and the invisible but tangible barrier that surrounds a person forced to live in the shadows of a village—a word that defines not just separation, but the architecture of the space that creates it.
Etymology
From un- + touchable.
adj
- Not able to be touched.e.g.“Sunday’s election is the first to be held after youth-led mass protests in 2020 shocked the establishment by […] criticising an institution previously considered untouchable.” — 2023 May 14, Rebecca Ratcliffe, Thitipol Panyalimpanun, “Opposition parties take lead in Thai election”, in The Guardian:
- Not able to be defeated or bested.e.g.“The Minnesota Vikings have been untouchable this year as they've won their sixth consecutive game.”
noun
- A criminal who is so well-connected that they cannot be harmed.
- Synonym of outcast: a person excluded from society.
- A member of the lowest and most discriminated caste in traditional Indian society.
- A law enforcement agent immune to intimidation, bribery, or seduction.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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