humanitarian
[hyoo-man-i-tair-ee-uh n or, often, yoo-]
- having concern for or helping to improve the welfare and happiness of people.
- of or relating to ethical or theological humanitarianism.
- pertaining to the saving of human lives or to the alleviation of suffering: a humanitarian crisis.
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- a person actively engaged in promoting human welfare and social reforms, as a philanthropist.
- a person who professes ethical or theological humanitarianism.
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Origin of humanitarian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
charitable, humane, philanthropic, altruistic, good, helper, patron, benefactor, philanthropist, do-gooder, altruist, beneficent, benevolent, eleemosynary, generous, idealistic, kindly, public-spiritedExamples from the Web for humanitarian
Contemporary Examples
With the harsh Middle Eastern winter approaching fast, what people in Syria and Iraq need most, in fact, is humanitarian support.
Humanitarian organizations had already pulled out, and French troops rushed in to extract the 15 foreigners left in the city.
The precious cargo: two American humanitarian workers with Ebola.
The two American humanitarian workers infected with Ebola in Liberia were fighting for their lives.
He hopes his humanitarian contributions will ultimately help prevent similar massacres in other parts of the world.
As 30-Year Anniversary of Mass Killings in India Arrives, Sikhs Find Safety in USASimran Jeet Singh
October 31, 2014
Historical Examples
His life has been that of his century—progressive, liberal, humanitarian in its trend.
The Grand Old ManRichard B. Cook
It explodes our humanitarian theories by a series of well-directed mines.
Mountain MeditationsL. Lind-af-Hageby
Nor was it a progressive step only on the humanitarian side.
SocialismJohn Spargo
But though it tended to be egalitarian it did not, of itself, tend to be humanitarian.
A Short History of EnglandG. K. Chesterton
This ambiguity enters into all the phrases which are humanitarian.
FolkwaysWilliam Graham Sumner
humanitarian
- having the interests of mankind at heart
- of or relating to ethical or theological humanitarianism
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- a philanthropist
- an adherent of humanitarianism
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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 humanitarian
n.
1794 (n.) in the theological sense "one who affirms the humanity of Christ but denies his pre-existence and divinity," from humanity + suffix from unitarian, etc.; see humanism. Meaning "philanthropist, one who advocates or practices human action to solve social problems" is from 1842, originally disparaging, with a suggestion of excess. As an adjective, by 1834.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper