nonwhite

[ non-wahyt, -hwahyt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

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.

noun

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.

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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 ).

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Word History and Origins

Origin of nonwhite¹

First recorded in 1920–25; non- + white

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

There are nonwhite characters, like Rory’s best friend, Lane, who is Korean, and the unfortunately named Gypsy, who runs the local auto body shop.

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It's also a real denigration of anyone considered nonwhite.

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This became a rallying cry for white solidarity in certain internet forums and more radical right-wing media bubbles, overlapping with the separate and heated issue of land reform, a decades-old promise by the dominant African National Congress political party to address some of the leftover imbalances from apartheid, which had pushed nonwhite South Africans off their properties and allowed the white minority to take control of more than 70 percent of the country’s land.

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Through fan interviews, the movie captures the saintlike devotion that people had to the “La Carcacha” singer, not only because of her musical abilities but because of what she seemed to stand for morally and in her physical appearance as a model for the acceptance of nonwhite bodies.

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UC has touted its campus-by-campus enrollment of nonwhite groups, which has remained roughly the same or has grown.

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nonvoting non-White

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