non-Jewish

adjective

non-Jew·​ish ˌnän-ˈjü-ish How to pronounce non-Jewish (audio)
: not Jewish : not being, relating to, or characteristic of the Jews
Since only about 10,000 Jews live in the city, the restaurant must attract non-Jewish patrons to survive.Julia M. Klein
non-Jew noun
plural non-Jews
Of the seven or eight people present, we were the only non-Jews. Clifford Thompson

Examples of non-Jewish in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Where was the clear response from their non-Jewish colleagues? Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Nov. 2023 The debate over the merits of a prosthetic schnoz, or whether non-Jewish actors should play Jewish characters, won’t be settled here (although film writer Mark Harris came as close as anyone has in a recent, supremely nuanced Slate essay). Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023 Ariana Caldwell is appealingly spunky as daughter Chava, who warms to the non-Jewish Fyedka (Jay Frisby), while Cheryl J. Campo hits comic notes diligently as the matchmaker Yente. Celia Wren, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023 Boggess plays a Gentile who marries Rabbi, and Benko a Jewish radical who weds a non-Jewish member of the group. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023 Israel's non-Jewish population is around 20%, including Muslim, Christian and Druze, an esoteric, monotheistic religion that incorporates elements of all Abrahamic religions and other philosophies. Ruth Marks Eglash, Fox News, 12 Nov. 2023 Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities. Yuval Levin, National Review, 6 Nov. 2023 The alliance promotes Holocaust education and research, and has come under criticism by both Jewish and non-Jewish groups for suggesting that broad criticism of Israel can be construed as antisemitic. Jean Lee, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2023 In this challenging time, I have been comforted by words of support from many non-Jewish friends. Tevi Troy, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'non-Jewish.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of non-Jewish was in 1851

Dictionary Entries Near non-Jewish

Cite this Entry

“Non-Jewish.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/non-Jewish. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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