An adjective that describe special kind of loneliness and foreignness/strangeness

Question

I'm looking for a noun/adjective which describe a person lonliness and being stragner in a social group. In Persian we have this word غریب which means not being known by others or being a foreigner in a remote country far away from homeland. We also use this word metaphorically when we want to say that somebody seems "not well being understood by others" and "not having real/close friend" or "being away from be loved ones". In other words for us this adjective refers to a feeling which a person feels when (s)he doesn't feel connected with others, in a way that ended up in a little sadness and loneliness and also this feeling usually contributes to persons personality (his independence and mindfulness). So is there any particular word to which I'll be able to translate غریب‍‍.

Answer 1

'Alien' and 'Outcast' don't do all the work you require, so perhaps a compound, a poetic device, like "Stranger in a strange land" - which has religious (Exodus) and literary (Heinlein novel) associations. Or "Square peg in a round hole." "Sticking out like a sore thumb." "Like a dog with no tail." Many more, I'm sure.

Answer 2

removed adj. OED

distant, remote, or separate in space, time, or relationship

As in: Children of the Resolution By Gary William Murning

I felt removed from everything about me. But that was the way I wanted it, I told myself. I was not a part of it, it was not a part of me.

Answer 3

"Estranged" may me sufficient in the context you describe. Merriam Webster gives this as the second definition of estranged.

2 : to remove from customary environment or associations "The first words spoken were not those of one becoming estranged from this world, and already permitted to stray at times into realms foreign to the living."— Charlotte Brontë

I think of Mersault as estranged in Camus's The Stranger. "Meursault is psychologically detached from the world around him. Events that would be very significant for most people, such as a marriage proposal or a parent’s death, do not matter to him, at least not on a sentimental level. He simply does not care that his mother is dead, or that Marie loves him."

And the mood established in the Door's song "When You're a Stranger," is estrangement: Lyric: "People look ugly when you're alone."

Answer 4

I like the following terms for this meaning:

Pariah: :excluded, looked down upon, or ignored. In common English speech an outcast may be anyone who does not fit in with normal society, which can contribute to a sense of isolation.:

Vagabond

Tramp

Derelict

Vagrant

Leper

Answer 5

There is an adjective for this in English:

alienated

feeling that you do not belong in a particular society, place, or group. Many single parents feel alienated from society; angry and alienated teenagers (Macmillan)

Example:

When I first returned to my native country, I had gotten out of the habit of talking my native language. I could still speak it, but everything came out veery sloowly. Even my own mother was driven nuts by my slow pace. I couldn't explain my problem satisfactorily to her or anyone else at the time. I felt alienated. It was a difficult time. Later I met others who had lived as expatriates for some time, and then experienced similar difficulties when they returned to the country they had grown up in. I found out I wasn't alone.

Answer 6

I have a few ideas:

1. Estrangement (noun)

• Estrangement is the feeling that you don't belong, especially when you're surrounded by other people. If you've ever had to sit by yourself in a school cafeteria, you know what estrangement feels like. Vocabulary.com

I think this is a great word for what you're asking! It could also be an adjective as estranged

You could also use the idiom of a black sheep

• The black sheep is the odd one out, whether he's a disgrace to the family or just doesn't seem to belong. (Vocabulary.com)

• a disfavored or disreputable member of a group (Merriam Webster)

2. Outcast (noun)

• An outcast is someone who is not accepted by a group of people or by society.

EX: He had always been an outcast, unwanted and alone. (Collins)

• a person who has no place in their society or in a particular group, because the society or group refuses to accept them (Cambridge)

Or as an adjective:

• pertaining to or characteristic of an outcast

EX: outcast misery. (Dictionary.com)

The word social outcast may help reiterate!

Outsider (n.) and reject (n.) are good synonyms as well.

Definition of outsider:

• a person who does not belong to a particular group (Merriam)

Definition of reject:

• a rejected person or thing

especially : one rejected as not wanted, unsatisfactory, or not fulfilling requirements (Merriam)

I also agree with Ibf's removed!