nontechnical

adjective

non·​tech·​ni·​cal ˌnän-ˈtek-ni-kəl 

: not technical: such as

a

: not related to technique or technical skills or subjects

Most of the criticism focused on nontechnical aspects of care—not whether the diagnosis or surgery was correct but on the overall experience of the patient.

—Tara Lagu

b

: not being or using technical or specialized terminology

The doctor explained the effects of the disease in nontechnical terms.

Most of the writing in this book is nontechnical, meaning that it can be understood by the 99.7 percent of the public who are trained in neither science nor engineering.

—Timothy Ferris

c

: not having or requiring technical or specialized knowledge or skills

I believe that e-books should be targeted at nontechnical users, but I can't imagine my mother-in-law reading her romance novels on one.

—Paul MacFarlane

nontechnically

ˌnän-ˈtek-ni-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

describing the problem clearly and nontechnically

Examples of nontechnical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This approach enables nontechnical employees to better understand technology and its potential applications. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024

My nonprofit, Humane Intelligence, builds red teaming exercises with nontechnical experts, governments, and civil society organizations to test AI for discrimination and bias. —Rumman Chowdhury, WIRED, 26 Nov. 2024

This makes test automation accessible to nontechnical team members, encouraging broader participation in the QA process and reducing dependency on specialized testers or developers. —Asad Khan, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024

Igoe had been teaching courses to nontechnical students using the BASIC Stamp but was impressed by Arduino’s features. —IEEE Spectrum, 26 Oct. 2011

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above