human

[ hyoo-muhn or, often, yoo‐ ]
See synonyms for: humanhumanshumanlikehumanness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or having the nature of people: human frailty.

  2. consisting of people: the human race.

  1. of or relating to the social aspect of people: human affairs.

  2. sympathetic; humane: a warmly human understanding.

noun

Origin of human

1
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; spelling human predominant from early 18th century

synonym study For human

1. 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).

pronunciation note For human

Pronunciations of words like human, huge, etc., with the initial [h] /h/ deleted: [yoo-muhn], /ˈyu mən/, [yooj], /yudʒ/, while sometimes criticized, are heard from speakers at all social and educational levels, including professors, lawyers, and other public speakers.

Other words from human

  • hu·man·like, adjective
  • hu·man·ness, noun
  • half-hu·man, adjective
  • in·ter·hu·man, adjective
  • o·ver·hu·man, adjective
  • pseu·do·hu·man, adjective
  • qua·si-hu·man, adjective
  • qua·si-hu·man·ly, adverb
  • trans·hu·man, adjective
  • ul·tra·hu·man, adjective
  • un·hu·man, adjective
  • un·hu·man·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with human

  • human , humane (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words Nearby human

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use human in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for human

human

/ (ˈhjuːmən) /


adjective
  1. of, characterizing, or relating to man and mankind: human nature

  2. consisting of people: the human race; a human chain

  1. having the attributes of man as opposed to animals, divine beings, or machines: human failings

    • kind or considerate

    • natural

noun
  1. a human being; person

Origin of human

1
C14: from Latin hūmānus; related to Latin homō man

Other words from human

  • Related prefix: anthropo-

Derived forms of human

  • human-like, adjective
  • humanness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for human

human

[ hyōōmən ]


  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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with human

human

see milk of human kindness.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.