subhuman
subhuman Lexical Profile
subhuman Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Less than human, or failing to attain the level of morality, decency, or dignity considered normal for a human being.
"Humanitarian organizations reported that the displaced families were forced to endure subhuman living conditions."
Relating to a lower taxonomic order than humans, especially referencing non-human primates in biological or evolutionary contexts.
"Early twentieth-century anthropologists often studied the social behaviors of subhuman primates to understand human evolution."
• noun
A person regarded as inferior to a normal human being, or a fictional creature of a lower evolutionary order than humans.
"The dystopian novel depicts a divided society where the ruling elite treat the subterranean laborers as mere subhumans."
Word Nuance & Usage
When applied to people or groups, 'subhuman' carries extreme derogatory and dehumanizing connotations; however, it is used neutrally in formal writing to condemn wretched living conditions (such as 'subhuman squalor') or in older scientific contexts to describe lower primates.