human

adjective

hu·man | \ ˈhyü-mən,

ˈyü-\

Definition of human

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of humans (see human entry 2) the human brain human voices problems that have occurred throughout human history

2 : consisting of humans everyone held hands and made a human chain

3a : 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

human

noun

Definition of human (Entry 2 of 2)

: a bipedal primate mammal (Homo sapiens) : a person : man sense 1c —usually plural a disease that affects both humans and animalsincomprehensible to us humans— William James broadly : hominid the least developed of all ancestral humans — A. L. Kroeber

Other Words from human Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about human

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Other Words from human

Adjective

humanness \ ˈhyü-mən-nəs ,

ˈyü- \ noun

Noun

humanlike \ ˈhyü-mən-ˌlīk ,

ˈyü- \ adjective

Examples of human in a Sentence

Adjective

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.

Noun

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Perhaps, part of that wisdom is to recognize some of life's baffling paradoxes such as the way human beings have a huge propensity for good, and yet a capacity for evil. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Queen Elizabeth's Christmas Message Reflects on the Royal Family's 'Busy Year'," 25 Dec. 2018 The second surprise is the persistence of life here, both human and wild. — Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, "Going Off-Grid in Namibia," 21 Dec. 2018 Perhaps there's some human evil in store for the new season. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Stranger Things Season 3: Everything We Know So Far," 10 Dec. 2018 The takeaway for Volume II is that the long term human, societal, and economic costs of climate change will far outweigh the benefits of allowing greenhouse gas emissions to continue unchecked. — Mary Beth Griggs, The Verge, "Report finds that climate change could cause ‘substantial damages’ to US," 23 Nov. 2018 The two differed on whether climate change is human-caused. — Becky Bohrer, The Seattle Times, "US Rep Young in debate likens migrant caravan to invasion," 26 Oct. 2018 There’s one more piece of Prey left to come though: An asymmetric multiplayer update called Typhon Hunter, where a human player has to track down five other Mimics, disguised as random objects in the environment. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "This week in games: Call of Duty starts selling sans-Zombies, DayZ preps Early Access exit," 7 Dec. 2018 The Royal Family may not be ordinary, but the people in it are human. — Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, "Are Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle Really Feuding?," 3 Dec. 2018 Because of the fragmentary nature of many of the bones, the team exploring the cave has been slowly going through them, determining which ones are human by looking at the collagen that comprises much of the bone. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "DNA shows girl had one Neanderthal, one Denisovan parent," 22 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Those bites would not have been problematic to a human, just painful. — Rob Dunn, Discover Magazine, "Our Attempts to Eradicate Insects are Just Making them Resistant to Pesticides," 16 Nov. 2018 As a performer, but mostly as a young woman and a healthy human. — Tamara Fuentes, Seventeen, "Meet the Cast of "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" and Their Characters," 20 Aug. 2018 The National Institute of Health’s database on toxic substances says a 150-pound human can safely consume 703 milligrams of hydrogen cyanide per day before beginning to suffer any ill effects. — Jean Nick, Good Housekeeping, "Are Stone Fruit Seeds Poisonous?," 25 July 2018 Experts say the turkey’s extreme territorialism, especially in males, programs them to assert their dominance — whether over another turkey or a human. — Aditi Shrikant, BostonGlobe.com, "When wild animals urbanize," 13 July 2018 Why would someone not have a human to teach them this? — Belinda Luscombe, Time, "How Bo Burnham Turns Anxiety Into a Work of Art," 12 July 2018 Could a human shrink down to the size of an insect — and survive? — Denise Chow /, NBC News, "'Ant-Man' science adviser explains the real-life physics behind the film," 11 July 2018 Starting off my Monday full of gratitude for this little blessing of a human! — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE.com, "Baby Bliss! Eva Longoria Enjoys 'Morning Cuddles' with Her Newborn 'Angel' Son Santiago," 6 July 2018 Joe Raedle/Getty Images Widespread, sustained disasters like drought, wildfire, and flooding will affect virtually every human on the planet within their lifetimes, according to a dire new assessment of the global impacts of climate change. — Alissa Walker, Curbed, "Cities have 15 months to reverse climate change, says new report," 8 Oct. 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.