humanist

American  

[hyoo-muh-nist, yoo-] / ˈhyu mə nɪst, ˈyu- /

noun

1. a person having a strong interest in or concern for human welfare, values, and dignity.

2. a person devoted to or versed in the humanities.

3. a student of human nature or affairs.

4. a classical scholar.

5. (sometimes initial capital letter) any one of the scholars of the Renaissance who pursued and disseminated the study and understanding of the cultures of ancient Rome and Greece, and emphasized secular, individualistic, and critical thought.

6. (sometimes initial capital letter) a person who follows a form of philosophical or scientific humanism.

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adjective

1. of or relating to human affairs, nature, welfare, or values.

   our humanist principles; a humanist approach to social reform.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) of or relating to the humanities or classical scholarship, especially that of the Renaissance humanists.

   humanist studies; the Humanist ideology of Petrarch.

3. of or relating to philosophical or scientific humanism.

   a humanist philosophy that clashed with his parents’ religious beliefs.

humanist Cultural  

1. In the Renaissance, a scholar who studied the languages and cultures of ancient Greece and Rome; today, a scholar of the humanities. The term secular humanist is applied to someone who concentrates on human activities and possibilities, usually downplaying or denying the importance of God and a life after death.

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Other Word Forms

• antihumanist noun
• antihumanistic adjective
• humanistically adverb
• nonhumanist noun
• nonhumanistic adjective
• pseudohumanistic adjective
• quasi-humanistic adjective
• semihumanistic adjective
• unhumanistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of humanist

First recorded in 1585–95; from Middle French, French humaniste “classics scholar, classicist”; equivalent to human + -ist

Explanation

Do you prefer humans to gods or animals? Well, perhaps you’re a budding humanist, someone who wants the best for humankind. A humanist is also a scholar of the classics and liberal arts. The word humanist comes from the Renaissance, by way of an Italian poet, Lodovico Ariosto. It started out as a name for a scholar of classical Greek and Latin literature. It still describes someone who studies liberal arts, or humanities, but now a humanist is also someone who’s especially interested in what's good for humanity. Humanists want everyone to have enough food, shelter, and dignity.

Example Sentences

And two Americans: Kenyon, a wry, observant, skeptical humanist sculptor, perhaps a stand-in for Hawthorne himself; and Hilda, a New England Puritan painter—self-possessed, pious, unswervingly loyal, pure as a flight of doves.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

Its republican institutions, humanist constitution and all-powerful president have much in common with America’s.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

This anthology left me humbled — and determined to double down on my commitment as a writer, a free thinker, a humanist.

From Salon • Oct. 30, 2025

His detention also sent shockwaves across Nigeria's small atheist and humanist communities, and his release has come as a relief to many, but there are still concerns.

From BBC • Jan. 7, 2025

But in the universities, as opposed to the schoolrooms, humanist scholarship was not the central concern.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton