human

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈhjuːmən/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈhjumən/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(hyo̅o̅′mən or, often, yo̅o̅′-)



WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
hu•man /ˈhyumən/USA pronunciation   adj. 
  1. of, relating to, characteristic of, or having the nature of people:[before a noun]human weakness.
  2. Anthropology made up of people:[before a noun]the human race.
  3. of or relating to the social aspect of people:[before a noun]human affairs.
  4. sympathetic;
    kind;
    humane:a warmly human understanding.

n. [countable]
  1. AnthropologyAlso called ˈhu•man ˈbe•ing. a person;
    a man, woman, or child.
hu•man•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
hu•man  (hyo̅o̅′mən or, often, yo̅o̅′-),USA pronunciation adj. 
  1. of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or having the nature of people: human frailty.
  2. Anthropologyconsisting of people: the human race.
  3. of or pertaining to the social aspect of people: human affairs.
  4. sympathetic; humane: a warmly human understanding.

n. 
  1. Anthropologya human being.
  • Latin hūmānus, akin to homō human being (compare Homo); spelling, spelled human predominant from early 18th cent.
  • Middle French humain
  • earlier humain(e), humayn(e), Middle English 1350–1400
hu ′man•like′, adj. 
hu ′man•ness, n. 
    1. Human, humane may refer to that which is, or should be, characteristic of human beings. In thus describing characteristics, human may refer to good and bad traits of a person alike (human kindness; human weakness). When emphasis is placed upon the latter, human is thought of as contrasted to divine:To err is human, to forgive divine. He was only human.Humane (the original spelling of human, and since 1700 restricted in meaning) takes into account only the nobler or gentler aspects of people and is often contrasted to their more ignoble or brutish aspect. A humane person is benevolent in treating fellow humans or helpless animals; the word once had also connotations of courtesy and refinement (hence, the application of humane to those branches of learning intended to refine the mind).
    Pronunciations of words like human, huge, etc., with the initial (h)USA pronunciation deleted: (yo̅o̅′mən), (yo̅o̅j),USA pronunciation while sometimes criticized, are heard from speakers at all social and educational levels, including professors, lawyers, and other public speakers.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
human /ˈhjuːmən/ adj
  1. of, characterizing, or relating to people: human nature
  2. consisting of people: the human race, a human chain
  3. having the attributes of people as opposed to animals, divine beings, or machines: human failings
    • kind or considerate
    • natural
 n
  1. a human being; person
Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin hūmānus; related to Latin homō manˈhumanness n
'human' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
A - AB - ABO system - acro- - act - act of God - Adam - adolescence - age - AI - alpha-fetoprotein - anatomy - ancylostomiasis - android - angel - animal - Antarctica - anthropo- - anthropometry - anthropomorphism - anthropomorphic - anthropomorphous - aquaculture - arch - areola - arm - art - artefact - artificial intelligence - ashes - Ask - astrology - audio frequency - audiometer - autonomy - avatar - B - Ba - back - Bacon - Barnard - beast - Beckett - beef - being - Berkeley - beyond - Bill of Rights - bio- - biobank
Collocations: a human being, is a human, the [beginnings, origins] of the human race, more...

Forum discussions with the word(s) "human" in the title:


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