human rights
plural noun
fundamental rights, especially those believed to belong to an individual and in whose exercise a government may not interfere, as the rights to speak, associate, work, etc.
RELATED CONTENT
Do Dogs Actually Understand Human Language?Anyone who has ever seen their dog hop to attention when they used the word “treat” knows that dogs obviously understand the same words as humans. But is it accurate to say that animals use language? Man’s best friend is hardly the only animal capable of amazing humans with communication skills. Extensive studies using gestural communication (sign language) explore the cognitive potential in the great apes. …
Nearby words
- human parvovirus b19,
- human placental lactogen,
- human plasma protein fraction,
- human relations,
- human resources,
- human safari,
- human services,
- human shield,
- human t-cell leukemia virus,
- human t-cell leukemia virus type iii
Origin of human rights
First recorded in 1785–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for human rights
human rights
pl n
the rights of individuals to liberty, justice, etc
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
human rights
Freedom from arbitrary interference or restriction by governments. The term encompasses largely the same rights called civil liberties or civil rights but often suggests rights that have not been recognized.
Note
Political leaders in the United States often use the expression when speaking of rights violated by other nations.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.