humane
[ hyoo-meyn or, often, yoo- ]
/ hyuˈmeɪn or, often, yu- /
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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Origin of humane
SYNONYMS FOR humane
1 merciful, kind, kindly, kindhearted, tender, compassionate, gentle, sympathetic; benevolent, benignant, charitable. See human.
Related forms
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 Forms
humanely, adverbhumaneness, nounWord Origin for humane
C16: variant of human
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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