second-class citizen

American  

noun

1. a citizen, especially a member of a minority group, who is denied the social, political, and economic benefits of citizenship.

2. a person who is not accorded a fair share of respect, recognition, or consideration.

   The boss treats us all like second-class citizens.

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second-class citizen British  

noun

1. a person whose rights and opportunities are treated as less important than those of other people in the same society

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Example Sentences

What that says to a kid is, “My parent is working. My parent is on their phone. I am a second-class citizen to that.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2024

Clemente refused to be treated like a second-class citizen, and he demanded the same mindset from his Black teammates.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 26, 2022

Yet, even though he has tasted normality, even though he has survived his many nightmares, he is drawn again to the danger of a trade in which normality is not even a second-class citizen.

From The Guardian • Aug. 3, 2020

The brunt of many classical music in-jokes, the viola has long been relegated to second-class citizen of the string section.

From New York Times • Oct. 11, 2019

But it wasn’t so long ago that Team USA had become a second-class citizen in the basketball world.

From Washington Post • Jul. 30, 2018