humanity

American  

[hyoo-man-i-tee, yoo-] / hjuˈmæn ɪ ti, ju- /

noun

• humanities
  plural

1. all human beings collectively; the human race; humankind.

2. the quality or condition of being human; human nature.

3. the quality of being humane; kindness; benevolence.

   Synonyms:

   goodwill, tenderness, sympathy

   Antonyms:

   unkindness, inhumanity

4. the humanities,

   1. the study of classical languages and classical literature.

   2. the Latin and Greek classics as a field of study.

   3. literature, philosophy, art, etc., as distinguished from the natural sciences.

   4. the study of literature, philosophy, art, etc.

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humanity British  

/ hjuːˈmænɪtɪ /

noun

1. the human race

2. the quality of being human

3. kindness or mercy

4. (plural) the study of literature, philosophy, and the arts

5. the study of Ancient Greek and Roman language, literature, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antihumanity
  noun
• overhumanity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• humanities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of humanity

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English humanite, from Latin hūmānitās; equivalent to human + -ity

Explanation

Humanity is the human race, which includes everyone on Earth. It’s also a word for the qualities that make us human, such as the ability to love and have compassion, be creative, and not be a robot or alien. The word humanity is from the Latin humanitas for "human nature, kindness.” Humanity includes all the humans, but it can also refer to the kind feelings humans often have for each other. Awww. But when you talk about humanity, you could just be talking about people as a whole. When people do bad things, it tests your faith in humanity. When people ask for money to help feed starving children, they're appealing to your sense of humanity.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

humanity humanities

But you watch these episodes, and he’s asking really elemental stuff about humanity.

From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026

Meredith Whittaker has little patience for the AI doom that dominates headlines - she thinks warnings of AI turning on humanity is a fear "not anchored in science".

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

And here’s where I counter that a movie about how algorithms destroy humanity has to have some credible humans in it, if only to illustrate its own point.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Within hours, the AI breakthrough was overshadowed by fears that AI could destroy humanity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Fine specimens of humanity, those Germans, and to think I’m actually one of them!

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

That numbers-backed thinking means engineers, software developers or entrepreneurs might all find it more appealing than humanities graduates, Lechterman said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

Many people with Ph.D.s in social sciences and humanities don’t want to work in business, and businesses may be loath to hire them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

In July, Boyagoda became the director of the Jackman Humanities Institute and special adviser to the dean of humanities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Many humanities and social science majors — pursued by students with a passion for sociology, history, art, music and English — tend to earn far less, around $40,000 to $60,000, the data show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

“We’re starting the first unit of the Socrates Project in humanities next week, and I’m kinda excited,” I say.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

Related Words

• compassion
• empathy
• friendship
• generosity
• goodness
• goodwill
• kindness