humanity

noun

hu·man·i·ty | \hyü-ˈma-nə-tē,

yü-\

plural humanities

Definition of humanity

1 : compassionate, sympathetic, or generous behavior or disposition : the quality or state of being humane bespeaking humanity for the enemy in the midst of a bloody struggle— C. G. Bowers

2a : the quality or state of being human joined together by their common humanity

b humanities plural : human attributes or qualities his work has the ripeness of the 18th century, and its rough humanities— Pamela H. Johnson

3 humanities plural : the branches of learning (such as philosophy, arts, or languages) that investigate human constructs (see construct entry 2 sense 1a) and concerns as opposed to natural processes (as in physics or chemistry) and social relations (as in anthropology or economics)

4 : the totality of human beings : the human race : humankind a fierce compassion for the woes of humanity— Maurice Bowra

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Examples of humanity in a Sentence

We appealed to his sense of humanity. These discoveries will be of benefit to all humanity. She was cut off from the rest of humanity. the college of arts and humanities He's taking courses in both the sciences and the humanities.

Recent Examples on the Web

These are are some of the most admirable, noble and revolutionary giants of humanity. — Jeff Duncan, NOLA.com, "Congress finally finds something it can agree on: Steve Gleason," 6 June 2018 Despite being all metal and electronics, Connor somehow shows the most humanity and growth of any Detroit character. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Detroit: Become Human review: Robotic in all of the wrong ways," 24 May 2018 And there are countless people who have denied the humanity of Adolf Hitler. — Katy Steinmetz, Time, "Why Calling Donald Trump an 'Animal' Doesn't Fix Anything," 18 May 2018 At its conclusion Babylon Berlin solves the small crime but not the sweeping corruption of humanity for which the small crime is but a sordid prelude; one’s only complaint about the series is that its real drama is always happening off camera. — Steve Erickson, Los Angeles Magazine, "HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 Reveals a Blurred Line Between Utopia and Hell," 16 May 2018 Consider our own industrial age, which has only existed for about 300 years out of a multimillion-year history of humanity. — Steven Ashley, Scientific American, "Could an Industrial Prehuman Civilization Have Existed on Earth Before Ours?," 23 Apr. 2018 Halley’s comet had been terrifying humanity for thousands of years with its feathery, glowing visage. — Dennis Overbye, BostonGlobe.com, "Bradford Smith, 86, dies; showed postcards from outer space," 13 July 2018 Halley’s comet had been terrifying humanity for thousands of years with its feathery, glowing visage. — Dennis Overbye, New York Times, "Bradford Smith, Who Showed Postcards From Outer Space, Dies at 86," 11 July 2018 Its parent company plans significant layoffs in perhaps the richest era of satire known to humanity. — Glenn Fleishman, Fortune, "No Joke: The Onion Faces Layoffs by Univision, Says Report," 6 July 2018

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

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Dictionary Entries near humanity

human leukocyte antigen

Statistics for humanity

Last Updated

8 Oct 2018

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Time Traveler for humanity

The first known use of humanity was in the 14th century

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More Definitions for humanity

humanity

noun

English Language Learners Definition of humanity

: the quality or state of being human

: the quality or state of being kind to other people or to animals

: all people

See the full definition for humanity in the English Language Learners Dictionary

humanity

noun

hu·man·i·ty | \hyü-ˈma-nə-tē,

yü-\

plural humanities

Kids Definition of humanity

1 : the quality or state of being human Old enemies were joined by their common humanity in combating the disease.

2 : the human race These discoveries will benefit humanity.

3 humanities plural : studies (as literature, history, and art) concerned primarily with human culture

4 : kindness sense 1, sympathy … she … sent the Portugal captain a very handsome present for his humanity and charity to me.— Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe