Representation of the idea of rejection in the synonymic row oucast, rejected, pariah, renegade

The article deals with semantic, pragmatic and communicative properties of synonyms representing the idea of exclusion in the Russian language. This row of synonyms has not become the object of linguistic research yet. Data for the study are based on contexts taken from the Russian National Corpus. The semantic analysis of contexts shows a distinction of synonyms in the following semantic characteristics: the type of the subject; the type of the environment that rejects the subject; the type of the conflict between the subject and the environment; indication of the degree of the trait; the ability to change the social status. Semantic peculiarities of synonyms determine their co-occurrence, pragmatic and communicative similarities and differences. It is noted that words the outcast, the renegade, the pariah form evaluation combinations with a very wide range of emotional assessments and enter comparative constructions as well. The word rejected, being a substantivized participle, does not have such a constructive feature. Outcast, in addition to a negative assessment, presupposes a positive evaluation of the qualities of the subject. All synonyms of the row have the valence of the subject, the environment which rejects the bearer of the characteristic. Synonyms of this row are characterized by a predicative function. In the case of the renegade and the outcast, the attributive function implemented by the application becomes relevant. More often than other synonyms, the word renegade is used in the thematic part of an utterance. Overall, in this synonymic row similarities prevail over differences. For all the synonyms, neutralizing contexts are typical and differentiating ones are impossible.