human rights

plural noun

: rights (such as freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution) regarded as belonging fundamentally to all persons

Examples of human rights in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The number of complaints involving Discord between January and July increased by 54% compared to the same period last year, according to data from Safernet Brazil, a nonprofit that defends human rights on the internet. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

That would cement the status quo of what are already largely separate legal systems for Jews and Palestinians in the West Bank, which major human rights groups say amounts to apartheid, something Israel denies. — Joseph Krauss, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026

In the five years since the chaotic US withdrawal from Kabul and the Taliban’s return to power, Afghanistan has become home to one of the world’s worst human rights and humanitarian emergencies. — Kara Fox, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026

The United States has a particular responsibility to protect the Afghan women who worked with American institutions, in civil society organizations, or as human rights defenders before the Taliban takeover and have since left Afghanistan. — Rina Amiri, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1629, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for human rights

• acolytes
• ammonites
• amorites
• analytes
• andesites
• appetites
• argillites
• astrocytes
• belemnites
• bryophytes
• canaanites
• carmelites

Legal Definition

human rights

noun plural

: rights (as freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution) regarded as belonging fundamentally to all people