Synonyms of subhuman

subhuman

adjective

ˌsəb-ˈhyü-mən 

as in brute

having or showing the nature and appetites of a lower animal

years of grinding poverty that had reduced them to a subhuman existence

Synonyms & Similar Words

• brute
• brutal
• feral
• bestial
• animalistic
• animal
• brutish
• savage
• beastly
• swinish
• cruel
• vicious
• physical
• ferine
• corporeal
• sensual
• coarse
• barbaric
• corporal
• rude
• sadistic
• crass
• inhumane
• barbarous
• bodily
• heartless
• vulgar
• carnal
• uncultured
• fleshly
• uncouth
• gross
• crude
• unrefined
• uncultivated
• wanton
• ill-bred
• lowbred

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• noble
• sublime
• high
• great
• magnanimous
• elevated
• spiritual
• chivalrous
• lofty
• gallant
• angelic
• lordly
• benevolent
• kind
• compassionate
• high-minded
• beneficent
• kindly
• cultured
• greathearted
• polished
• genteel
• refined
• cultivated
• kindhearted
• benignant
• softhearted
• good-hearted
• tenderhearted
• well-bred

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of subhuman

The labor movement undertook two fights, resisting workers being displaced by machines but also resisting workers being treated as machines, subhuman fodder fuelling technological progress. — Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2026

Another friend was an evangelical pastor who grew up in the Jim Crow South believing that Black people were subhuman. — John Blake, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2025

But even past that, Tactics is directly about how the rich and powerful view the poor and weak as almost subhuman, practically delighting in the squalor and suffering normal people go through. — Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025

So, yeah, there are Muslim terrorists, but they are also shown as people with lives and interests and not subhuman villains, which, umm, could’ve been worse. — Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 30 July 2025