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
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.
In his rejection of a rigid empiricism, moreover, Kingsley left room for intuitive and imaginative approaches to nature, and indeed to science, and refused to draw a hard line between human and nonhuman experience, instead viewing all creatures as belonging to a spectrum with no sharp boundaries. Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 29 Jan. 2025 All living things—human and nonhuman, massive and miniscule—are part of Earth, creating and coevolving over time. Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 12 Dec. 2024 Maybe so, considering that neuroscience research is increasingly suggesting that joy and positive emotions play a critical role in the health of both human and nonhuman animals. Kelly Lambert, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024 Scientists have a lot of experience working with populations that don’t have language—studying preverbal infants or studying nonhuman animal species. Gary Stix, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2024 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

Dictionary Entries Near nonhuman

Cite this Entry

“Nonhuman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonhuman. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

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