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nonwhite

nonwhite

2 3.9
A person who is not white
  • noun
  • /nɒnˈwaɪt/
translation icon : persona no blanca
  • Here, whites were almost 24% more likely to win their hearings than nonwhites.
  • whites and nonwhites
  • more nonwhites
  • percent of nonwhites

Examples

  • Nationwide in 1950, fewer than 20 percent of nonwhites lived on rural farms.

    Academic text (1991)
  • In clarifying its position, the court explained that "only nonwhites have standing to bring an action" based on equal employment discrimination.

    Academic text (1996)
  • According to the minutes of the meeting, only sixty tickets had been sold to nonwhites between 28 May and 9 June.

    Academic text (2008)
  • When race was controlled, it was discovered that for whites and nonwhites, there is no relationship between position and educational attainment.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The cycle has been all the more noteworthy in that the majority of farmworkers have been nonwhites and noncitizens.

    Academic text (2016)
  • The 2008 turnout, in contrast, was vast among nonwhites, with white turnout tepid.

    Blog text (13)
  • Sizeable recent migrations of nonwhites have already brought assumptions about homogeneous minority groups into question.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Fifty percent (50.3%) of whites and 39.5% of nonwhites won their hearings.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Garland and Zigler (1993) reported that suicides for nonwhites have more than doubled over the past 28 years.

    Academic text (2006)
  • In the multicultural city, nonwhites contribute to a rich tapestry of cultures and traditions.

Synonyms

people of color
vsnonwhite
  • US
37 3.6

People who are not white, for example Black, Asian, or Indigenous

is used for individuals as well as groups, not only group reference
person of color
vsnonwhite
  • US
6 4.1

A person who is not white, often used when talking about race

is more often used as a collective term referring to groups

Antonyms

1.0

People with light skin

Surface Forms

nonwhite singular
nonwhites plural

Morphology

nonwhite = white (transparent) = non + white

The meaning is directly formed by adding 'non-' to 'white' to indicate not white or not classified as white.

Etymology

As a noun, nonwhite is formed from non- 'not' and white and names people who are 'not white'. Because it is a broad label for many different backgrounds it can feel impolite or old-fashioned, so many people prefer terms that describe a person's background more clearly.