unhuman

[in-hyoo-muh n, or, often,, ‐yoo-muh n ]

lacking human attributes: The unhuman figures in his earlier work were not well received.

of a quality or power beyond what is human; superhuman: Her hands clenched the chair with unhuman strength.

not a member of the human species: Of our unhuman relatives, I love the mountain gorillas best.

Nearby words

First recorded in 1780–85; un-¹ + human

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

This was the foul revenge that Rogue Rogan had planned, the evil death he had plotted with his unhuman companions.
Runaway|William Morrison
Passion spoiled everything, and it was very ugly and unhuman.
Mogens and Other Stories|Jens Peter Jacobsen
To all these human or unhuman aids some overburdened soul has felt free to say anything the audience might need to hear.
Dramatic Technique|George Pierce Baker
The word means an inhuman or unhuman man, a man who is not man.
The Ego and His Own|Max Stirner

Why, that's the most unhuman thing I ever heard of in all my life!
The Admiral's Caravan|Charles E. Carryl

Word Origin and History for unhuman

adj.

1540s, "inhumane, cruel," from un- (1) "not" + human. Meaning "superhuman" is from 1782.