human

American  

[hyoo-muhn, yoo‑] / ˈhju mən, ˈju‑ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or having the nature of people.

   human frailty.

2. consisting of people.

   the human race.

3. of or relating to the social aspect of people.

   human affairs.

4. sympathetic; humane.

   a warmly human understanding.

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noun

• humans
  plural

1. a human being.

human British  

/ ˈhjuːmən /

adjective

1. of, characterizing, or relating to man and mankind

   human nature

2. consisting of people

   the human race

   a human chain

3. having the attributes of man as opposed to animals, divine beings, or machines

   human failings

4. 1. kind or considerate

   2. natural

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noun

1. a human being; person

human Scientific  

/ hyo̅o̅′mən /

1. A member of the species Homo sapiens; a human being.

2. A member of any of the extinct species of the genus Homo, such as Homo erectus or Homo habilis, that are considered ancestral or closely related to modern humans.

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human Idioms  

1. see milk of human kindness.

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Pronunciation

Pronunciations of words like human, huge, etc., with the initial deleted: , , while sometimes criticized, are heard from speakers at all social and educational levels, including professors, lawyers, and other public speakers.

Synonym Usage

Human, humane may refer to that which is, or should be, characteristic of human beings. In thus describing characteristics, human may refer to good and bad traits of a person alike ( human kindness; human weakness ). When emphasis is placed upon the latter, human is thought of as contrasted to divine: To err is human, to forgive divine. He was only human. Humane (the original spelling of human, and since 1700 restricted in meaning) takes into account only the nobler or gentler aspects of people and is often contrasted to their more ignoble or brutish aspect. A humane person is benevolent in treating fellow humans or helpless animals; the word once had also connotations of courtesy and refinement (hence, the application of humane to those branches of learning intended to refine the mind).

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• humanness
  noun
• half-human
  adjective
• human-like
  adjective
• humanlike
  adjective
• interhuman
  adjective
• overhuman
  adjective
• pseudohuman
  adjective
• quasi-human
  adjective
• transhuman
  adjective
• ultrahuman
  adjective
• unhuman
  adjective
• quasi-humanly
  adverb
• unhumanly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• humans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of human

First recorded in 1350–1400; earlier humain(e), humayn(e), Middle English, from Middle French humain, from Latin hūmānus, akin to homō “human being”; cf. Homo ( def. ); spelling human predominant from early 18th century

Explanation

Unlike a pickle or a chipmunk, a human is a person. You can identify a human by the two legs it stands on, its upright stature, its high intelligence, and its speech that you'll understand if you're one, too. Human was first recorded in the mid 13th century, and owes its existence to the Middle French humain “of or belonging to man.” That word, in turn, comes from the Latin humanus, thought to be a hybrid relative of homo, meaning “man,” and humus, meaning “earth.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

human humans

Plants also contain colorful "phytochemicals" that help protect them from environmental threats and may influence human health.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026

An AFP correspondent in Ansar saw a destroyed building as rescuers working to remove human remains from the rubble, and a swimming pool clouded and grey from dust and debris.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Then-CEO Hassabis founded the company in 2010 with the goal of achieving artificial general intelligence, or AGI — an AI system that matches or surpasses human capabilities.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

Which may well be why so many musical instruments so often mirror the curves, contours and parts of the human body.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

Right at the university, he said, seeds were being planted of a contempt for human life such as the world had never seen.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Nature helps humans adapt to change, and not everyone has proximity to it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

This has the benefit of including food and energy costs—things that economists often exclude as they seek to measure “core” inflation but which are obviously quite relevant expenses for most humans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

The results raise the possibility that the individual building blocks of the human cortex are unusually powerful, which could help explain how humans developed exceptional cognitive abilities.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

"I know there are a lot of people thinking about humans, but the time must come when pets are looked for too. That's what I'm here for," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

If only Clare had not gathered the mushrooms in one spot, the humans might not have felt compelled to destroy them.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• body
• character
• child
• creature
• individual
• life
• mortal