nonhuman

adjective

non·​hu·​man ˌnän-ˈhyü-mən 

-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

Monkeys are traditionally recognized as the only nonhuman animals that react to drugs with human-specific targets, meaning that in some cases, their body’s reactions could uniquely predict whether a drug will be safe and effective for humans. —Celia Ford, Vox, 6 Sep. 2024

Even the community’s nonhuman residents—from dogs to chickens to a family’s backyard oak tree—exhibited strange symptoms. —Longreads, 2 Aug. 2024

Level limitations for different racial groups were removed along with gaming stat limitations on nonhuman species, providing different systems to explain their advantages and disadvantages. —Steven Dashiell, Scientific American, 31 July 2024

These activists were targeted because their activities and their convictions — which went beyond objecting to animal abuse to challenge the idea that nonhuman animals should be treated as commodities under any circumstances — threatened industry practices and profits. —Sunaura Taylor, Vox, 7 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above