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definitions

humane

[ hyoo-meyn or, often, yoo- ]
/ hyuˈmeɪn or, often, yu- /
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adjective

characterized by tenderness, compassion, and sympathy for people and animals, especially for the suffering or distressed: humane treatment of prisoners.
acting in a manner that causes the least harm to people or animals: humane trapping of stray pets.
of or relating to humanistic studies.

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RELATED WORDS

mercy, empathy, tenderness, sorrow, benevolence, humanity, sympathy, kindness, grace, righteousness, honesty, friendliness, generosity, superiority, virtue, rightness, integrity, morality, graciousness, benignity

Nearby words

  1. human t-cell lymphotropic virus type 2,
  2. human t-cell lymphotropic virus type 3,
  3. human trafficking,
  4. human-factors engineering,
  5. human-interest story,
  6. humane society,
  7. humanely,
  8. humanics,
  9. humanise,
  10. humanism

Origin of humane

orig. stress variant of human, restricted to above senses from 18th century; cf. germane, german
ANTONYMS FOR humane
1. brutal.
SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR humane ON THESAURUS.COM
Related forms
Can be confusedhuman humane (see synonym study at human)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for humaneness

British Dictionary definitions for humaneness

humane

/ (hjuːˈmeɪn) /

adjective

characterized by kindness, mercy, sympathy, etc
inflicting as little pain as possiblea humane killing
civilizing or liberal (esp in the phrases humane studies, humane education)
Derived Formshumanely, adverbhumaneness, noun

Word Origin for humane

C16: variant of human
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
Word Origin and History for humaneness

humane

adj.

mid-15c., variant of human (cf. german/germane, urban/urbane), used interchangeably with it until early 18c., by which time it had become a distinct word with sense of "having qualities befitting human beings." But inhuman still can be the opposite of humane. The Royal Humane Society (founded 1774) was originally to rescue drowning persons. Such societies had turned to animal care by late 19c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper