SUBHUMAN Synonyms: 69 Similar and Opposite Words

subhuman

adjective

ˌsəb-ˈhyü-mən

Definition of subhuman

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

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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 See All Example Sentences for subhuman

Recent Examples of Synonyms for subhuman

Adjective

Its style is terse, cool, and detached, presenting warfare as primarily a problem of calculation rather than brute force or individual courage.

— Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
Its evolution and that of the surrounding estate have been determined by border disputes between papal states and grand duchies, by World Wars, and, in the second half of the 20th century, by brute economics, industrialization, and urbanization.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of brute

Adjective

Horror films and increasingly brutal crime stories reveal the very large market for the subject.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
McKinley stages a few bullet-sweating sequences of peril, including a particularly brutal transport of gold bars across a crumbling rope bridge and an underwater accident exacerbated by floating logs.

— Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of brutal

Adjective

Here, a kuchipudi solo by Sreelakshmy Kallungal Govardhanan, who moves with an almost feral power, displays dramatic abilities—central to kuchipudi—that transcend linguistic barriers.

— Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2026
Such contradictions, that cats can be both domesticated and yet somewhat feral, is part of their appeal, says comedian Drennon Davis, whose four cats have found internet fame via his short-form videos.

— Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of feral

Adjective

Those who believe Israelis and Jews capable of such an outrage might feel justified in wishing that such bestial monsters were wiped from the Earth—a shift from disgust to dehumanization to possible destruction that is well charted by social psychologists.

— David Frum, The Atlantic, 21 May 2026
Neither one of these people appears to be enjoying themselves, but the woman soon begins to grunt with the bestial upset of a werewolf under a full moon.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 18 May 2026

Definition of bestial

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subheads

subhuman

subhumid

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“Subhuman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subhuman. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of subhuman

adjective

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