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

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 • Nov. 7, 2025

The 14th and 15th Amendments were ratified to establish an enduring multiracial democracy, explicitly empowering Congress to end the subjugation of nonwhite Americans.

From Slate • Oct. 15, 2025

The 1940 census reports that there were more than 13,000 nonwhite tenants in Pittsburgh and nearly 2,000 nonwhite owner-occupants of their homes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025

Lawyers and former employees say focusing on people who may have had some DEI training or job duties would cause greater harm to nonwhite employees.

From Salon • Jun. 5, 2025

They were able, moreover, to use the presence of conventionally qualified nonwhite students like me to prove that they were meeting the goals of their critics.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez