one word to express "not belong"?

Question

I am afraid that when I hear it (if I hear it) I may introduce palm to forehead aggressively (an action some of you might in fact encourage me to do):

Is there one word to express "not belong"? As in:

That book does not belong on that shelf. It belongs on this one with the other compilations of Manitoban poetry.

Or:

I really feel I don't belong here. I mean, everyone is dressed so nicely and speaks so properly, while I in my oversized plaid shirt mumble nonsensically.

Thus, I mean an antonym to belong in the sense of "used to say that someone or something should be in a particular place or situation" (from M-W).

Answer 1

The two example you give seem different to me. And getting that meaning in a single word is a challenge.

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For the first example

That book does not belong on that shelf.

Out of place could be used here, as in

That book is out of place on that shelf.

Contracting the phrase to one word gives

That book is misplaced on that shelf.

The Oxford dictionary defines misplaced as 1.1 Not appropriate or correct in the circumstances

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The second example

I really feel I don't belong here.

could also use out of place, but misplaced would be quite an unusual thing to say.

Alien could be used though:

I really feel alien here.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines alien as 2. Belonging to, characteristic of, or constituting another and very different place, society, or person; strange.

Answer 2

You might consider amiss, incongruous, or mismatched.

While all three might work in your first sentence only incongruous and mismatched really fit in your second one.

Answer 3

I think outlier or aberrant should fit, although I think outlier is better.

From http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/outlier, an outlier is:

1. something that lies outside the main body or group that it is a part of, as a cow far from the rest of the herd, or a distant island belonging to a cluster of islands
2. someone who stands apart from others of his or her group, as by differing behavior, beliefs, or religious practices

In your examples, it would be like:

That book is an outlier on that shelf. It belongs on this one with the other compilations of Manitoban poetry.

I really feel like an outlier here. I mean, everyone is dressed so nicely and speaks so properly, while I in my oversized plaid shirt mumble nonsensically.

Answer 4

Suggestions

1. Pariah
2. Outcast
3. Transplanted
4. Inappropriate
5. Unacceptable
6. Ill-fitting
7. Ill-suited

Suffixes

As one commenter suggested, "un-" will probably be fruitful. More than one of good suggestion has started with "mis-". I think negating suffixes can yield some good words here.

Previously suggested words with which I agree

1. Misplaced
2. Alien
3. Mismatched

Answer 5

Consider foreign. American Heritage offers these two definitions (among others)

2. Situated in an abnormal or improper place in the body and typically introduced from outside: a foreign object in the eye.
3. Not natural; alien: Jealousy is foreign to her nature.

Answer 6

There really ought to be a commonly understood word for this concept, and some people incorrectly think it is anachronism.

This previous discussion came up with the interesting, but uncommon, analogous word anatopism.