human
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, characteristic of, or having the nature of people.
human frailty.
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consisting of people.
the human race.
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of or relating to the social aspect of people.
human affairs.
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sympathetic; humane.
a warmly human understanding.
noun
adjective
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of, characterizing, or relating to man and mankind
human nature
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consisting of people
the human race
a human chain
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having the attributes of man as opposed to animals, divine beings, or machines
human failings
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kind or considerate
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natural
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noun
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A member of the species Homo sapiens; a human being.
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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.
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.
Related Words
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
- half-human adjective
- human-like adjective
- humanlike adjective
- humanness noun
- interhuman adjective
- overhuman adjective
- pseudohuman adjective
- quasi-human adjective
- quasi-humanly adverb
- transhuman adjective
- ultrahuman adjective
- unhuman adjective
- unhumanly adverb
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”; Homo ( def. ); spelling human predominant from early 18th century
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.
Earlier this year, several UN experts called on India to undertake major reforms to modernise policing in line with international human rights standards.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
The third-party disclosure rule exists because sharing information with a human being creates a risk that the human will further disseminate it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Authorities were investigating after the discovery Sunday afternoon of possible human remains at a Long Beach park as visitors gathered to celebrate Easter.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026
It came down to a straightforward question, she said: What kind of human being do you want to be?
From Salon • Apr. 6, 2026
You could begin to see the shapes of human heads between here and the flames.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
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.
