abhuman

Etymology

From ab- + human.

abhuman means having some human characteristics, but others which are alien or monstrous; partially human. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.

Why this word is great

ABHUMAN — [Adjective, Noun] Having some human characteristics, but others which are alien or monstrous; also, a creature that is partially human. From the English prefix ab- (meaning "away from, off, apart") + human. Unlike "inhuman" (which suggests a chilling absence of compassion) or "demi-human" (which implies a stable, often noble, hybridity), abhuman denotes a state of monstrous slippage and existential fraying. It is the lighthouse keeper's skin grown scaly and translucent from decades of salt air; the familiar figure in the fog that moves with too many joints; the loved one returned, wearing a correct but ill-fitting smile. The word does not describe what is not us, but the quiet horror of becoming something we can still, just barely, remember.

adj

Having some human characteristics, but others which are alien or monstrous; partially human.“You're a morbid abhuman bastard, Holmes…where were you when they built Treblinka and Dachau?”

noun

A partially human creature.