nonperson

American  

[non-pur-suhn] / nɒnˈpɜr sən /

noun

1. someone whose existence or presence is not recognized.

2. someone whose existence is denied or ignored by a government, political party, or the like, often as a punishment for disloyalty or dissent and sometimes resulting in the loss of personal liberty; unperson.

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nonperson Cultural  

1. A former political leader whom a government wants the people to ignore, because the former leader's views or actions are considered unacceptable by the current government. This unusual practice is most commonly used in totalitarian states (see totalitarianism), where past leaders often disappear from the official histories of one regime and reappear in the histories of another. The creation of nonpersons was particularly striking in the former Soviet Union, where leaders such as Trotsky and Khrushchev became nonpersons even while they were alive. (See rehabilitation.)

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Etymology

Origin of nonperson

First recorded in 1905–10; non- + person

Related Words

• expatriate
• fugitive
• refugee