humane

[hyoo-meyn or, often, yoo-]

See more synonyms for humane on Thesaurus.com

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.

Origin of humane

orig. stress variant of human, restricted to above senses from 18th century; cf. germane, german

Related formshu·mane·ly, adverbhu·mane·ness, nounun·hu·mane, adjectiveun·hu·mane·ly, adverbun·hu·mane·ness, noun

Can be confusedhuman humane (see synonym study at human)

Synonyms for humane

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1. merciful, kind, kindly, kindhearted, tender, compassionate, gentle, sympathetic; benevolent, benignant, charitable. See human.

Antonyms for humane

1. brutal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for humaneness

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

Examples from the Web for humaneness

Historical Examples of humaneness

Are not quacks then, whom we know, better than the doctors who put on an air of humaneness?
Indian Home Rule
M. K. Gandhi
Religion does not generate sense, logic, or humaneness in the mind of Society.
Flowers of Freethought
George W. Foote
He is the epitome of mildness, the incarnation of humaneness.
Comrade Kropotkin
Victor Robinson
So when his desire is the virtue of humaneness, and he attains it, how shall he then be covetous?
The Wisdom of Confucius
Epiphanius Wilson
We must be humane; humaneness is not only beautiful, but also advantageous to us.
The Shield
Various

British Dictionary definitions for humaneness

humane

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.