nonwhite

American  

[non-wahyt, -hwahyt] / nɒnˈwaɪt, -ˈʰwaɪt /

adjective

1. of or relating to a person or people who are not members of the sociocultural classification marked by slight pigmentation of the skin and associated with European descent.

   Both immigration and births contributed to nonwhite population growth in the most recent census.

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noun

1. a person who is not a member of the sociocultural classification marked by slight pigmentation of the skin and associated with European descent; a person of color.

Sensitive Note

Use of the word nonwhite to describe a population group has sometimes been criticized for implying in its very structure that “white” is the norm and anything else is a deviation from that norm. A more affirmative descriptive term, like person(s) of color, is often appropriate, as are other specific ethnic, cultural, or national designations. However, nonwhite is still in common use, especially in contexts where the focus is on statistical analyses of populations of European ancestry as distinguished from other populations. It is generally more acceptable as an adjective (strategies to get nonwhite voters to the polls) than as a noun (a candidate favored by nonwhites; the candidate who is a nonwhite ).

Etymology

Origin of nonwhite

First recorded in 1920–25; non- + white

Example Sentences

To do so—and following the logic of the Dhillon letter—Republicans targeted Texas’ nonwhite voters with almost surgical precision.

From Slate

The result was a wholesale sorting of nonwhite Texans along overt racial lines, all under the guise of complying with a 5th Circuit decision that actually warned against the use of race in redistricting.

From Slate

The same can be claimed for the sudden, prizewinning visibility of nonwhite novelists and poets.

From The Wall Street Journal

At UCLA, budget cuts have forced some campus tours to be reduced, and student retention programs targeting nonwhite students have cut staff and programming.

From Los Angeles Times

But since nonwhite voters are disproportionately Democratic, that produces “wasted votes”: ballots cast in excess of what the Democrat needs to win.

From Slate