nonhuman

adjective

non·​hu·​man ˌnän-ˈhyü-mən How to pronounce nonhuman (audio)
-ˈyü-
: not human: such as
a
: being other than a human being
a nonhuman primate/animal
b
: not belonging to, appropriate to, or produced by human beings
nonhuman noises
nonhuman cells
nonhuman noun
Discarding the doctrine of human dignity can mean lowering the moral status of humans or raising the moral status of nonhumans, and Mr. Rachels's emphasis is ultimately on the latter. Robert Wright

Examples of nonhuman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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And workers in many fields fear that AI – or robots, or other nonhuman hands – might sweep in to replace them. Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 18 May 2025 The motif of changelings—of fairies taking a human child and leaving a nonhuman child in its place—comes up throughout the story. Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 May 2025 Scientists earlier showed that Ronan, a resident of the Long Marine Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz, was the first nonhuman mammal who could be trained to keep a beat, including moving in time with music. Gennaro Tomma, New York Times, 1 May 2025 In the empty, evening-quiet, and dim room, the metallic, nonhuman voice sounded like something from the other side: Ingrid is dead. Karl Ove Knausgaard, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for nonhuman

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nonhuman was in 1839

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Cite this Entry

“Nonhuman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonhuman. Accessed 29 Jun. 2025.

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