Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Below the human race in evolutionary development.
  • adjective Regarded as not being fully human.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Under or beneath the human; next below the human.
  • Nearly or somewhat human.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Less than human; lacking characteristics of a human.
  • noun Anything which is less than human.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective less than human or not worthy of a human being
  • adjective unfit for human beings

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

sub- +‎ human

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Examples

  • I have purposefully hyphenated the word subhuman in this article to add emphasis to the root of the word which is human because that root word is very important!

    Political Pistachio 2010

  • In fact, Zedillo's slavish obeisance to the NAFTA treaty and the neoliberal global economy has increased the number of Mexicans who live below the poverty line, some say by as much as 40%; dislocated millions of peasants and forced them into the edges of the cities to live in subhuman conditions while seeking work; made the Army a power in the civilian government roughly equal to where it stood in 1968 when the UNAM massacre took place; choked off needed funding for the systems of free education and health care; increased dramatically the percentage of Mexicans who are illiterate, addicted, and committing crimes; and produced more billionaires than have France, Great Britain, and Spain combined.

    The Oaxaca Newsletter volume 5, No. 14: August 15, 2000 2000

  • And, those conditions can only be described as subhuman - dangerously filthy, and without the most rudimentary sanitary facilities or basic medical care.

    William Fisher: Immigration: Emma Lazarus Redux 2010

  • And, those conditions can only be described as subhuman - dangerously filthy, and without the most rudimentary sanitary facilities or basic medical care.

    Immigration: Emma Lazarus Redux 2010

  • And, those conditions can only be described as subhuman - dangerously filthy, and without the most rudimentary sanitary facilities or basic medical care.

    Emma Lazarus Redux 2010

  • So then Thomas evaded the morality issue by asserting that the homunculus has only a sensitive rather than a rational soul, and therefore can be classified as subhuman and fit for research purposes.

    Us and Stem - Only The Daily Show Can Help Us Now Mark 2006

  • Denied their identity, defined as subhuman, dispossessed of their land, their country and their freedom, millions became chattels in the ownership of others who convinced themselves that they were true masters of all they surveyed.

    ANC Today 2002

  • Denied their identity, defined as subhuman, dispossessed of their land, their country and their freedom, millions became chattels in the ownership of others who convinced themselves that they were true masters of all they surveyed.

    ANC Today 2002

  • Can you link to some evolutionist researh in which neanderthals are described as subhuman?

    Conservapedia - Recent changes [en] 2009

  • But is this reason enough to make Bangladeshis live in what can only be described as subhuman conditions?

    Minivan News : Top Stories 2009

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