humanist
[hyoo-muh-nist or, often, yoo-]
- a person having a strong interest in or concern for human welfare, values, and dignity.
- a person devoted to or versed in the humanities.
- human nature
- a classical scholar.
- (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.
- (sometimes initial capital letter) a person who follows a form of philosophical or scientific humanism.
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- of or relating to human affairs, nature, welfare, or values: our humanist principles; a humanist approach to social reform.
- (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.
- of or relating to philosophical or scientific humanism: a humanist philosophy that clashed with his parents’ religious beliefs.
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Origin of humanist
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for humanistic
Contemporary Examples
Yet when it comes to Palestinians under Israel's control, the humanistic approach to children's welfare tends to wither.
He prioritized spiritual values and humanistic principles above market forces and hedonistic impulses.
David Foster Wallace, Traditionalist? Considering ‘Both Flesh and Not: Essays’David Masciotra
November 2, 2012
Are they idealistic freedom fighters with humanistic principles?
Free Syrian Army Struggles to Survive Amid Charges That It’s Executing OpponentsTobias Havmand
May 1, 2012
They had Ph.D. degrees from some German school, all based on some atheistic, humanistic philosophy.
Historical Examples
It was the first specimen of humanistic historiography in France.
Erasmus and the Age of ReformationJohan Huizinga
In his combat with humanistic purism he foreshadows a Christian puritanism.
Erasmus and the Age of ReformationJohan Huizinga
The third of the great Italian leaders in the humanistic movement was Boccaccio.
History of EducationLevi Seeley
Humanistic studies when set in opposition to study of nature are hampered.
The Behavior of CrowdsEverett Dean Martin
I have said that the sciences and classics should be approached in the "humanistic" spirit.
The Behavior of CrowdsEverett Dean Martin
Word Origin and History for humanistic
humanist
n.
1580s, "student of the classical humanities," from Middle French humaniste (16c.), formed on model of Italian umanista "student of human affairs or human nature," coined by Italian poet Lodovicio Ariosto (1474-1533), from Latin humanus "human" (see human; also cf. humanism). Philosophical sense is from 1903.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
humanist
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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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.