humane

adjective

hu·​mane hyü-ˈmān 

yü-

1

: marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals

humane prison guards

a more humane way of treating farm animals

2

: characterized by or tending to broad humanistic culture : humanistic

humane studies

humanely adverb

humaneness

hyü-ˈmān-nəs 

yü-

noun

Synonyms of humane

• compassionate
• benevolent
• kind

Examples of humane in a Sentence

It's not humane to treat animals that way.

Conditions in the prison are more humane now.

Recent Examples on the Web

Longwell believes that neither party is currently giving voters the choice of being simultaneously tough and fair, secure and humane, protective and decent. — Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026

In 2021, the humane society was named as one of nine beneficiaries of a donor’s IRA, which Sadek said the nonprofit only learned about through the donor’s sister. — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026

Paula Goldman, Salesforce’s chief ethical and humane use officer, argues there’s currently a big opportunity to redesign work around the complementary strengths of humans and AI. — Harvard Business Review, 17 Sep. 2026

That group of people and that production is incredibly well organized and incredibly humane and enormous fun. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English humain

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for humane

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign

Kids Definition

humane

adjective

hu·​mane hyü-ˈmān 

yü-

: marked by sympathy or consideration for others

humanely adverb

humaneness

-ˈmān-nəs 

noun