inhumane
Americanadjective
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Etymology
Origin of inhumane
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Explanation
The adjective inhumane means cruel and heartless. Use it to describe terrible things like your neighbor's inhumane treatment of his hound dogs, which he leaves tied up in the yard in all kinds of weather. Whenever someone acts without considering the discomfort or pain of another person or animal, you can describe their actions as inhumane. A cruel government that keeps prisoners in terrible conditions is inhumane, and the treatment of farm animals is in some cases revealed to be inhumane by investigators. The word inhumane was originally a synonym of inhuman, literally "not human," but it fell out of use and then was revived in the 1820s to mean the opposite of humane.
Vocabulary lists containing inhumane
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
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Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Surviving Hitler
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Professionals with air rifles shoot the pigeons at night in an effort to prevent droppings becoming slip hazards or causing illness, but critics say the method is inhumane.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The strike was a high-profile example of detainees organizing themselves against ICE over allegedly dangerous and inhumane conditions in the facility.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who wrote the majority opinion, noted that ATS cases "frequently involve heinous and inhumane acts."
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
Grande commented on the post: "Please do not use my music in relation to this barbaric, inhumane, heinous nonsense."
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
They slept in separate bedrooms because my uncle's snoring was so loud it was inhumane.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
