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

Its popular Ring doorbells and security system are incompatible with Siri, and a second-class citizen with Google.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 2, 2021

Much is made of Radcliffe College, Britton’s alma mater, serving as a sort of second-class citizen to all-male Harvard, a dynamic upset by a merger of the two institutions that rocked Harvard’s otherwise conservative campus.

From Washington Post • Nov. 14, 2020

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

Still, there may have been signs of the Sports Arena’s destiny as a second-class citizen even during its early days.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2016