Nonperson: meaning, definitions and examples

The word 'nonperson' is used in a negative or dehumanizing context to describe someone who is treated as if they do not exist or have no significance.

• In the totalitarian regime, dissenters were often rendered nonpersons, erased from all records.

Entity is a more formal term used to describe something that exists as a single and complete unit. It can refer to organizations, companies, governments, and other formal groups.

• The new regulations apply to any legal entity operating within the country.

This word is used to describe a structured group of people working together to achieve common goals, such as businesses, non-profits, clubs, and associations.

• She was a key figure in the organization that promotes literacy among children in rural areas.

This term is used in a business context to refer to a large company or group of companies authorized to act as a single entity and recognized as such in law.

• The corporation announced its new sustainability strategy at the annual shareholders' meeting.

Used when referring to someone who is ignored or ostracized by society or an institution, often deliberately made to seem nonexistent or insignificant.

• After the scandal, he became a nonperson in the political arena.
• She felt like a nonperson in her own family after the dispute.

Refers to a state of non-existence, used in philosophical or metaphysical discussions about existence and reality.

• The concept of non-being is central to some Eastern philosophies.
• He meditated on the nature of being and non-being.

Has a negative connotation, used to describe someone as less than human, often in a dehumanizing or derogatory way.

• The prisoners were treated in subhuman conditions.
• Such derogatory language devalues people by calling them subhuman.

Refers to an individual or group that is not acknowledged or officially recognized, often used in legal, diplomatic, or bureaucratic contexts.

• The rebels acted as an unrecognized entity, receiving no formal support.
• Certain cultural groups remain unrecognized entities within the political system.