inhumane
adjective
in·hu·mane
ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān 
-(ˌ)yü-
: not humane : inhuman sense 1
the inhumane treatment of prisoners
inhumanely
adverb
Synonyms
- affectless
- callous
- case-hardened
- cold-blooded
- compassionless
- desensitized
- hard
- hard-boiled
- hard-hearted
- heartless
- indurate
- inhuman
- insensate
- insensitive
- ironhearted
- merciless
- obdurate
- pachydermatous
- pitiless
- remorseless
- ruthless
- slash-and-burn
- soulless
- stony
- stoney
- stonyhearted
- take-no-prisoners
- thick-skinned
- uncharitable
- unfeeling
- unmerciful
- unsparing
- unsympathetic
Examples of inhumane in a Sentence
inhumane wardens who regularly ignored the crying children in their care
an inhumane dictator who tortured and murdered thousands of his own people
Recent Examples on the Web
Prisoners and their families report inhumane conditions at the federal prison in Leavenworth, which has been on lockdown for weeks.
—
Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2024
The Detroit Free Press started reporting 18 months ago on the juvenile jail's struggles with overcrowding and understaffing, creating conditions critics have called inhumane.
—Christine MacDonald, Detroit Free Press, 30 Jan. 2024
Ohio's youth prison system has been struggling with violent clashes, staff shortages and inhumane conditions.
—Laura A. Bischoff, The Enquirer, 18 Mar. 2024
The treatment, which sends electric currents through the brain to induce a brief seizure, has barbaric, inhumane connotations — for example, it was portrayed as a sadistic punishment in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
—Elizabeth Landau, Quanta Magazine, 18 Mar. 2024
The order stemmed from a lawsuit running for more than a decade that claimed Arizona was providing such inadequate health care that prisoners were being subjected to inhumane treatment.
—Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2024
Since the summer of 2022, the Free Press has reported on the overcrowding and understaffing at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Center, problems that led to what critics have called inhumane conditions.
—Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2024
Hellish Prison Conditions: Locked in an Arctic prison, Aleksei Navalny likely spent his final days in some of the most inhumane conditions within Russia’s extensive penitentiary system, according to five men who have served sentences in the same penal colony as him.
—Oleg Matsnev, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024
But some animal welfare organizations say gene-editing is a slippery slope that could lead to more inhumane treatment of farm animals.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Feb. 2024
Katie Moore, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2024
The Detroit Free Press started reporting 18 months ago on the juvenile jail's struggles with overcrowding and understaffing, creating conditions critics have called inhumane.
—Christine MacDonald, Detroit Free Press, 30 Jan. 2024
Ohio's youth prison system has been struggling with violent clashes, staff shortages and inhumane conditions.
—Laura A. Bischoff, The Enquirer, 18 Mar. 2024
The treatment, which sends electric currents through the brain to induce a brief seizure, has barbaric, inhumane connotations — for example, it was portrayed as a sadistic punishment in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
—Elizabeth Landau, Quanta Magazine, 18 Mar. 2024
The order stemmed from a lawsuit running for more than a decade that claimed Arizona was providing such inadequate health care that prisoners were being subjected to inhumane treatment.
—Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2024
Since the summer of 2022, the Free Press has reported on the overcrowding and understaffing at the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Center, problems that led to what critics have called inhumane conditions.
—Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2024
Hellish Prison Conditions: Locked in an Arctic prison, Aleksei Navalny likely spent his final days in some of the most inhumane conditions within Russia’s extensive penitentiary system, according to five men who have served sentences in the same penal colony as him.
—Oleg Matsnev, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024
But some animal welfare organizations say gene-editing is a slippery slope that could lead to more inhumane treatment of farm animals.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inhumane.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near inhumane
Cite this Entry
“Inhumane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inhumane. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
inhumane
adjective
in·hu·mane
ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān
-(ˌ)yü-
: not humane : inhuman sense 1
inhumane treatment of prisoners
inhumanely
adverb
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