Unhumanlike

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Lacking the characteristics, appearance, or qualities that are typical of human beings and their behavior
2. Not having a human form, manner, or feeling, often used for creatures or things that seem alien or inhuman
3. Unlike people in appearance, conduct, or emotional nature, and so seeming strange, cold, or non-human

Etymology: "Unhumanlike" is a plain compound: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "humanlike," which is itself "human" plus the suffix "-like," meaning "resembling" or "having the qualities of." Put together, it describes something that does not have the qualities expected of a person. The base "human" comes ultimately from Latin "humanus," and "-like" is an old English suffix, descended from the word for "body" or "form," that has long been used to build adjectives meaning "resembling" something. Because "humanlike" is itself a straightforward formation, "unhumanlike" adds nothing more than the negating prefix to a transparent base. The word is best read literally: something unhumanlike is simply not like a human in manner, appearance or behaviour. Its meaning follows directly from its parts, with no special history attached.