CASTAWAYS Synonyms: 11 Similar and Opposite Words

castaways

noun

plural of castaway

as in outcasts

one who is cast out or rejected by society one theory is that Easter Island was first settled by castaways from Polynesia

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

insiders

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of castaways As fans recall, season 50 featured a guest appearance by MrBeast, who challenged the castaways to correctly guess a coin toss to double the $1 million prize. — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 23 Sep. 2026 Meet the 'Survivor' 51 castaways Are there any players from Michigan on 'Survivor' 51? — Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 27 Aug. 2026 On Survivor, the strongest castaways are often eliminated early because they are perceived as threats. — Erik Clarke, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 Gilligan’s Island, American television sitcom about a group of castaways on a desert island and the chaos that ensues as their attempts at rescue are constantly thwarted. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026 Supporters of the theory believe that Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan became stranded on the remote island after failing to reach Howland Island — possibly dying as castaways. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2026 But the Hurricanes turned speedy castaways like Ehlers, Miller, Taylor Hall and Eric Robinson into Cup champions. — Murat Ates, New York Times, 17 June 2026 Other castaways struggled with how to present themselves on screen while playing this game of cons and elimination. — Shaan Merchant, Rolling Stone, 20 May 2026 One guy simply voted for his fellow castaways in alphabetical order. — Julie Beck, The Atlantic, 12 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for castaways

Noun

Lee’s films have often zeroed in on misfits and outcasts, cut off from society’s embrace.

— Justin Chang, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
These bog bodies tell stories of a time when humans were sacrificed to the gods in bogs, as otherworldly margins between the human and divine realms, or when social outcasts met a cruel, violent end for failing to conform to societal standards.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of outcasts

Noun

Remember, the Lord Jesus did not fear lepers, and leprosy was (and continues to be) a highly contagious infectious disease.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 2025
The town serves as the backdrop for what many surrounding the production consider the creative high point of the season — an episode 5 spaghetti western side mission that involves lepers, eye-gauging vultures, and a train pulled by zombies.

— Dalton Ross, EW.com, 26 Aug. 2025

Definition of lepers

Noun

Pollock's rejects were the source material for Bald Eagle, according to Kumar.

— Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR, 10 Oct. 2026
The most opinionated of these rejects is Smarty Pants, a basic toilet-training tech tool given an amusingly snarky attitude by Conan O’Brien.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026

Definition of rejects

Noun

Candidates up and down the ballot seized the moment to stake their position against Cuba’s communist government to voters in Florida, which has the most Cuban exiles in the country.

— Claire Heddles, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026
Producers Arya Ibrahim and Gita Fara describe the project as a story of the political upheaval of 1965, which tore families apart and left people who lost their citizenship living as exiles.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of exiles

Noun

Their limited budgets also have required both to identify which castoffs elsewhere could become valuable contributors.

— Andrew Greif, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026
Filled with castoffs from other teams and cheap internal options having the best few weeks of their careers at the perfect time.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of castoffs

Noun

Rather than bolstering support for traditional hunting practices, the constitutional amendment could make sportsmen and women pariahs in the public’s eye and invite further ballot initiatives.

— Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
Though top of the Premier League, City are pariahs domestically, having been found guilty of almost all of the breaches of the league’s financial regulations they were charged with, pending a final appeal.

— Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of pariahs

Browse Nearby Words

castaway

castaways

cast down

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Castaways.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/castaways. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of castaways

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

grotesque

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes