Standard Lemma guide

unperson

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who has been stripped of rights, identity, or humanity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • With his identity stolen, he became an unperson, unable to prove his existence to the government.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To strip (a person) of rights, identity, or humanity; to dehumanize.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a person regarded as nonexistent and having no rights; a person whose existence is systematically ignored (especially for ideological or political reasons)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the former senator is treated as a nonperson by this administration
  • George Orwell predicted that political dissidents would be treated as unpersons

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nonperson

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: person, individual, someone, somebody, mortal, soul

History

Etymology

From un- + person. Coined by George Orwell in 1949 as part of the Newspeak in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where it refers to a person who has been executed or has fallen out of favor; whose entire history has been erased.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 非人 (fēirén) — human stripped of rights
  • Esperanto: malpersono — human stripped of rights
  • Finnish: epähenkilö — human stripped of rights
  • Hungarian: nem létezőnek tekintett személy — human stripped of rights
  • Hungarian: jogaitól megfosztott személy — human stripped of rights
  • Hungarian: nemszemély — human stripped of rights
  • Korean: 사람이 아닌 (salam-i anin) — human stripped of rights
  • Portuguese: impessoa — human stripped of rights
  • Portuguese: despessoa — human stripped of rights
  • Turkish: yokkişi — human stripped of rights
  • Turkish: yokkişiler — human stripped of rights