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.
The federal government’s prospective disinvestment in the sciences has long been the status quo for the humanities, with corporate foundations and private philanthropy providing the main funding sources.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
An additional 1,600, including those in humanities, social sciences and arts, later joined to argue that verbal reasoning and writing skills were lacking too.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Lambert, a lecturer in medical humanities, described the documents as a "significant" step in further understanding what happened at the home.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
The multi-day exam, which began Sunday, drills test-takers on subjects including Chinese, mathematics, English, science and the humanities -- with the tallied scores to be released later this month.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
Today’s humanities class was the day I was waiting for.
From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
