human

adjective hu·man \ ˈhyü-mən , ˈyü- \

|Updated on: 12 Jul 2018

Examples: human in a Sentence

Definition of human

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of humans (see ²human)

the human brain

human voices

problems that have occurred throughout human history

2 : consisting of humans

everyone held hands and made a human chain

3 a : having human form or attributes

the statue is more human than the beings at his feet
—Clifton Fadiman

b : representative of or susceptible to the sympathies and frailties of human nature

human kindness

a human weakness

such an inconsistency is very human
—P. E. More

—

humanness

play \ˈhyü-mən-nəs, ˈyü-\ noun

See human defined for English-language learners

See human defined for kids

Examples of human in a Sentence

problems that have occurred throughout human history
She is a very kind and human person.
The dog's expression was almost human.
The assembly line was a human machine.
Everyone held hands and formed a human chain.

Recent Examples of human from the Web

The impulse to meme-ify is understandable, of course, and very, very human.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "#PlaneBae and the Slow Death of Whimsy," 6 July 2018
Beautifully acted by its ensemble of mostly non-professional actors, The Citizen puts a very human face on a topic that has inflamed much of the Western world.

— frank scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Citizen': Film Review," 5 July 2018
Joe is also part of Seniors for Seniors, so his adoption fee is waived for any human 65 and older!!

— sacbee, "At the SPCA: Little Joe," 4 July 2018
The bacteria indicate contamination by human or animal feces.

— michelle theriault boots, Anchorage Daily News, "Feel like a swim? Here’s the lowdown on Anchorage lakes," 4 July 2018
Colin Kaepernick was among a dozen honorees who received a human and civil rights award from the National Education Association.

— Fox News, "Colin Kaepernick receives civil rights award from National Education Association," 4 July 2018
The posses that are out there dealing with the zombies can’t recognize him as fully human.

— jef rouner, Houston Chronicle, "‘Night of the Living Dead’: What a zombie classic says about death in America," 3 July 2018
Gou dug up ginseng with Hsu’s father — himself a native of Taiwan — looked over barrels of the root, which sometimes has a human-like look, and was particularly interested in how the product grows, Hsu said.

— rick romell, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Before leaving Wisconsin, Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou visits a ginseng farm and a supper club near Wausau," 3 July 2018
According to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, coral reefs are crucial to marine and human life.

— lindsey bever, The Seattle Times, "Hawaii is about to ban popular sunscreen brands to protect its coral reefs," 2 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'human.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of human

Middle English humain, from Anglo-French, from Latin humanus; akin to Latin homo human being — more at homage

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

human Synonyms

Other Anthropology Terms

ectomorph, ethnography, prehistory, yurt

human

noun

Definition of human

: a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens) : a person : man 1c —usually plural

a disease that affects both humans and animals

incomprehensible to us humans
—William James

; broadly : hominid

the least developed of all ancestral humans
—A. L. Kroeber

—

humanlike

play \ˈhyü-mən-ˌlīk, ˈyü-\ adjective

See human defined for English-language learners

Examples of human in a Sentence

humans are the only mammals not endowed with a natural defense against the elements, such as fur or a thick hide

Recent Examples of human from the Web

Some of these posts are shared by bots, rather than humans, making things go faster.

— gary robbins, latimes.com, "With marijuana legal, California flooded with dubious health claims about the drug," 9 July 2018
Some of these posts are shared by bots, rather than humans, making things go faster.

— gary robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Consumers are being flooded with dubious claims about the health benefits of marijuana," 9 July 2018
Goats followed at 25 percent, then pigs at 13.8, humans at 4.8, dogs at 3.6, cats at 3.4, and barnyard fowl at 1.8 percent.

— ned rozell, Anchorage Daily News, "Only female mosquitoes bother us (and other facts about the insects Alaskans love to hate)," 7 July 2018
The first humans to populate the Americas arrived from Siberia via the Bering land bridge around 16,000 years ago.

— meilan solly, Smithsonian, "European Dogs Devastated Indigenous American Pup Populations," 6 July 2018
But that natural world includes insect life, some of which bite humans — including our children.

— dipesh navsaria, Houston Chronicle, "What parents should know to prevent — and deal with — bug bites," 6 July 2018
Ancient dogs arrived in the Americas alongside humans more than 10,000 years ago but were later wiped out by European colonization, a new study suggests.

— yasemin saplakoglu, Fox News, "Native dogs of the Americas were wiped out by European colonization," 6 July 2018
Jaap Arriens—NurPhoto via Getty Images Earlier this week a story published in the Wall Street Journal pointed out that some apps and services are using not only computers to read your Gmail, but also humans.

— emily price, Fortune, "How to Stop Third-Party Companies From Reading Your Gmail," 5 July 2018
Such questions have occupied humans since the dawn of consciousness.

— andrea gawrylewski, Scientific American, "The True Point of Searching for Alien Life; the Misuse of Genetics and Other New Science Books," 3 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of human

see ¹human

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1509

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

human Synonyms

Synonyms

being, bird, body, character, creature, customer, devil, duck, egg, face, fish, guy, head, human being, individual, life, man, mortal, party, person, personage, scout, sort, soul, specimen, stiff, thing, wight;

Near Antonyms

animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter;

Related Words

hominid, humanoid;

brother, fellow, fellowman, neighbor;

celebrity, personality, self, somebody;

Phrases

son of man;

Other Anthropology Terms

ectomorph, ethnography, prehistory, yurt

HUMAN Defined for English Language Learners

human

adjective

Definition of human for English Language Learners

: of, relating to, or affecting people
: typical of people
: having good or bad qualities that people usually have

human

noun

Definition of human for English Language Learners

: a person

HUMAN Defined for Kids

human

adjective hu·man \ ˈhyü-mən , ˈyü- \

Definition of human for Students

1 : of, being, or characteristic of people as distinct from animals

the human body

2 : having the form or characteristics of people

The expression on the dog's face was almost human.

human

noun

Definition of human for Students

: human being

—

humanlike

\ˈhyü-mən-ˌlīk, ˈyü-\ adjective

Medical Dictionary

human

adjective hu·man \ ˈhyü-mən , ˈyü- \

medical Definition of human

1 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of humans

the human body

human biochemistry

b : primarily or usually harbored by, affecting, or attacking humans

human diseases

human parasites

2 : being or consisting of humans

the human race

3 : consisting of members of the family Hominidae : hominid

—

humanness

play \-mən-nəs\ noun

human

noun

medical Definition of human

: a bipedal primate mammal of the genus Homo (H. sapiens) : man; broadly : hominid

—

humanlike

play \-ˌlīk\ adjective

Learn More about human

See words that rhyme with human Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for human Spanish Central: Translation of human Nglish: Translation of human for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of human for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about human

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human

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Origin and Etymology of human

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Synonyms

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Other Anthropology Terms

human

Definition of human

humanlike

Examples of human in a Sentence

Recent Examples of human from the Web

Origin and Etymology of human

human Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Phrases

Other Anthropology Terms

HUMAN Defined for English Language Learners

human

Definition of human for English Language Learners

human

Definition of human for English Language Learners

HUMAN Defined for Kids

human

Definition of human for Students

human

Definition of human for Students

humanlike

Medical Dictionary

human

medical Definition of human

humanness

human

medical Definition of human

humanlike

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