human

[ hyoo-muhnor, often, yoo‑ ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or having the nature of people:

   human frailty.

2. consisting of people:

   the human race.

3. of or relating to the social aspect of people:

   human affairs.

4. sympathetic; humane:

   a warmly human understanding.

noun

1. a human being.

human

/ ˈhjuːmən /

adjective

1. of, characterizing, or relating to man and mankind

   human nature

2. consisting of people

   the human race

   a human chain

3. having the attributes of man as opposed to animals, divine beings, or machines

   human failings

4. 1. kind or considerate
   2. natural

noun

1. a human being; person

human

/ hyo̅o̅′mən /

1. A member of the species Homo sapiens; a human being.
2. A member of any of the extinct species of the genus Homo, such as Homo erectus or Homo habilis, that are considered ancestral or closely related to modern humans.

Pronunciation Note

Pronunciations of words like human, huge, etc., with the initial [h] deleted: [yoo, -m, uh, n], [yooj], while sometimes criticized, are heard from speakers at all social and educational levels, including professors, lawyers, and other public speakers.

Derived Forms

• ˈhumanness, noun
• ˈhuman-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• hu·man·like adjective
• hu·man·ness noun
• half-hu·man adjective
• in·ter·hu·man adjective
• o·ver·hu·man adjective
• pseu·do·hu·man adjective
• qua·si-hu·man adjective
• qua·si-hu·man·ly adverb
• trans·hu·man adjective
• ul·tra·hu·man adjective
• un·hu·man adjective
• un·hu·man·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of human¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; earlier humain(e), humayn(e), Middle English, from Middle French humain, from Latin hūmānus, akin to homō “human being”; Homo ( def ); spelling human predominant from early 18th century

Word History and Origins

Origin of human¹

C14: from Latin hūmānus; related to Latin homō man

Idioms and Phrases

see milk of human kindness .

Synonym Study

Human, humane may refer to that which is, or should be, characteristic of human beings. In thus describing characteristics, human may refer to good and bad traits of a person alike ( human kindness; human weakness ). When emphasis is placed upon the latter, human is thought of as contrasted to divine: To err is human, to forgive divine. He was only human. Humane (the original spelling of human, and since 1700 restricted in meaning) takes into account only the nobler or gentler aspects of people and is often contrasted to their more ignoble or brutish aspect. A humane person is benevolent in treating fellow humans or helpless animals; the word once had also connotations of courtesy and refinement (hence, the application of humane to those branches of learning intended to refine the mind).

Example Sentences

“They’re all human beings with senses of humor who want fun things to happen and want good things to take place in their lives,” he said.

From Salon

The South African Human Rights commission says it will investigate the police for depriving the miners of food and water.

From BBC

Rachael was 23 and working at Mohamed Al Fayed's private office in 1994, when she was rung by the Harrods human resources team and offered a position as personal assistant to Salah.

From BBC

Worldwide, the number of displaced people has been climbing alongside what appears to be the rising severity of disasters, and research suggests that by later this century as much as one-third of civilization — billions of people — could be facing the kind of heat and drought that had prohibited most human settlement for thousands of years.

From Salon

Deforestation and flooding in Bangladesh, the collapse of Black Sea fisheries, the desertification of sub-Saharan Africa and “a nearly endless list” of other issues, he said, would drive human migration.

From Salon

Related Words

• body
• character
• child
• creature
• individual
• life
• mortal