humanities
CulturalExplanation
The humanities are studies about human culture, such as literature, philosophy, and history. Studying the humanities gives you general knowledge, but not a practical trade — you probably wouldn’t study humanities at beauty school. If you're studying to be a dentist or a blacksmith, you're learning to be something in particular. Studying the humanities is different. The humanities provide general knowledge about the best accomplishments of human beings throughout history. Learning the works of Shakespeare, Plato, and Beethoven is part of the humanities. The humanities make a person educated, but not necessarily for a specific profession. Most people require a more specific area of study beyond the humanities.
Vocabulary lists containing humanities
The Renaissance and Early Modern European History - Introductory
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 2–October 8, 2021
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Piecing Me Together
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That numbers-backed thinking means engineers, software developers or entrepreneurs might all find it more appealing than humanities graduates, Lechterman said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Brown University suspended doctoral admissions for six humanities and social-science programs including Egyptology and Assyriology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
The humanities and social-science cores will also exclude technology from the classroom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Princeton and Johns Hopkins run digital humanities research centers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The debate over Lawrence’s future at Berkeley climaxed at an acrimonious faculty conclave pitting the hard sciences, represented by Birge and Lewis, against the humanities and social sciences departments.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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