human

Syllables: hu·man/ˈhjuː.mən/

human adjective: of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens or its closest relatives.

Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D8%A7_%D8%B1%D9%88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Adjective

human (comparative more human, superlative most human)

(not comparable) Of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens or its closest relatives.
- Some powers diuine, or els infernall, mixt / Their angry ſeedes at his conception: / For he was neuer ſprong of humaine race, / Since with the ſpirit of his fearefull pride, / He dares so doubtleſly reſolue of rule.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- [N]o attempt is made to call in God to their reſcue, as if he vvere an idle unconcern'd ſpectator of humane affairs, or ſo inconſiderable an ally, as not to be vvorth the care of engaging him on their ſide.1660, [Richard Allestree], “Sect[ion] V. Of the Second Advantage, Wealth.”, in The Gentlemans Calling, London: […] T[imothy] Garthwait […], →OCLC, page 83
(comparable) Having the nature or attributes of a human being.
- To err is human; to forgive, divine.
- She's only human, so give her a break!
Compassionate.
- When his loosely-built, straggling, lean, clerical figure appeared, with that gaunt, worn face illuminated by its human grin and dignified by its earnest eyes, through the doorway, they both felt as if an old friend had entered. His own greeting was equally cordial.1926, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Land of Mist
Synonyms:

humane

Noun

human (plural humans or (nonstandard, humorous) humen)

(strictly) A highly intelligent ape with fine and short body hair; the most abundant species of primate, with members found on every continent (Homo sapiens).
- Humans share common ancestors with other apes.
- Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola.2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193
Synonyms:

human being, man, woman, person
1. (strictly) A human as contrasted from superficially similar but typically more powerful humanoid creatures; a member of the human race.
  - Greetings. I am Blor-Utar from Zimtok-5. I have come to subjugate the human race. Do not resist. Why humans? Because, in addition to their value as slave labor, they are also delicious and nutritious!1994 March 29, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes
2. (strictly) A term of address for any human, often implying the listener's species is their only noteworthy trait.
  - Greetings, human! You have stumbled into the dimension of the Snow People.[…]Flesh plows clear the streets to make them safe to drive.[…]Does this shock you, human? Do the ways of our world open your eyes to the truths of your own?2011 December 29, Alex Culang, Raynato Castro, Buttersafe (webcomic)
(broadly) Any hominid of the genus Homo.

Verb

human (third-person singular simple present humans, present participle humaning or (rare) humanning, simple past and past participle humaned or (rare) humanned)

(rare) To behave as or become, or to cause to behave as or become, a human.
- […] he sought to charm a single pair of ears, and those more hairy than critical. Later, as the race went on humaning, there grew complexity of sentiment and varying emotional needs, […]1911, Ambrose Bierce, “Music”, in The collected works of Ambrose Bierce, volume 9, page 362
- There are, then, many ways of humaning: these are the ways along which we make ourselves and, collaboratively, one another.2013, Biosocial Becomings, →ISBN, page 19
Synonyms:

humanize

Proper noun capitalized: Human

Human (plural Humans)

A surname.
(humorous) The language supposedly spoken by humans
- Should you identify your language (culture) with human being (nature), you would tend to think that all people should speak Human (English), just as you do. And if they do not, they are either subhuman or nonhuman. This is ethnocentrism again.2001, Bruce J. Malina, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology, Westminster John Knox Press, →ISBN, page 13
- Shakespeare could understand Human, the language used by people, as well as Dog, the telepathic speech with which canines communicated with each other.2005, Jean Little, Forward, Shakespeare!, Orca Book Publishers, →ISBN, page 2
Alternative letter-case form of human used in works that capitalize the names of all sentient species
- In some instances, Humans have also been called "Earth creatures" and "Earthlings" and a Human male called "Earthman."2025, “Human”, in Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki
- Raise an army and seek out the mightiest heroes from the four races of Origin Star – The Humans, Izans, Aokus, Theias, and unite them all to annihilate the Invaders of your home planet.2025, “Nexus War: Civilization”, in Google Play

human meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

human in Hindi

of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens: इंसान insān, मनुष्य manuṣya, मानव mānav, इंसानी insānī, मानवी mānvī
having the nature or attributes of a human being: मानवीय mānvīya
human being: मनुष्य manuṣya, मानव mānav, इंसान insān, लोग log, आदमी ādmī, आदम ādam

human in Tamil

human being: மனிதன் maṉitaṉ, மனிதர் maṉitar

human in Marathi

of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens: मानवी mānvī
human being: मानव mānav, माणूस māṇūs

human in Urdu

of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens: اِنْسانی insānī
human being: اِنْسان insān, آدْمی ādmī, مَنُشیَہ manuśya

More languagesFewer languages

human in Bengali: মানবীয় manbiẏo, মানুষিক manuśik, মানুষ manuś, মানব manob
human in Telugu: మనిషి maniṣi, మగవాడు magavāḍu
human in Malayalam: മനുഷ്യൻ manuṣyaṉ
human in Kannada: ಮಾನವ mānava
human in Punjabi: ਮਨੁੱਖ manukkha
human in Gujarati: માણસ māṇas, પુરુષ puruṣ, મનુષ્ય manuṣya
human in Odia: ମନୁଷ୍ୟ manuṣya, ମଣିଷ maṇiṣa
human in Sanskrit: मानव mānava, मनुष्य manuṣya, मानवीय mānavīya, मानुष्यक mānuṣyaka
human in Sinhala: මිනිසා minisā
human in Assamese: মানুহ manuh, মানৱ manow
human in Nepali: मानव mānav, मान्छे mānche
human in Pashto: انساني ensāní, بشري bašarí, انسان insān, آدم ādam
human in Tagalog: tao
human in Arabic: بَشَرِيّ bašariyy, إنْسَانِيّ ʔinsāniyy, آدْمِيّ ʔādmiyy, إِنْسَانِيّ ʔinsāniyy
human in Malay: manusia, orang, insan
human in Indonesian: manusia, orang, insan
human in Persian: اِنْسانی ensâni, بَشَری bašari, اِنْسان ensân, آدَم âdam
human in Thai: มนุษย์ má-nút, คน kon
human in Vietnamese: người, con người, loài người
human in Myanmar: မနုဿ ma.nu.ssa., လူ lu, လူသား lusa:, ပုဂ္ဂိုလ် pugguil
Sindhi: آدِمي ādimī
Dhivehi: އިންސާނުން in̊sānun̊
Kashmiri: اِنسان insān

Examples of human in a sentence

Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between.2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
It was in the classic pattern of human weakness, mean and embarrassing and sad.1963, Margery Allingham, “Eye Witness”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 249:
If I ever have to choose between a future where killer robots hunt humans or a future where bacon supplies have run out ...2013 April 18, Rock Paper Cynic (webcomic):

All 40 example sentences with human

Synonyms of human

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of human

Forms of human

Adjective
comparative	more human
superlative	most human
alternative form (obsolete)	humane
Noun
plural	humans
plural (nonstandard, humorous)	humen
Verb
third-person singular present	humans
present participle	humaning
past participle	humaned
past	humaned
present participle (rare)	humanning
past participle (rare)	humanned
past (rare)	humanned
Proper noun
plural	Humans

Plural of human: humans

Origin of human

From Late Middle English humaigne, humayne, humain, from Middle French humain, from Old French humain, umain (“of or belonging to man”, adjective), from Latin hūmānus m (“of man, human”, adjective); see there for further details. Spelling human has been predominant since the early 18th century. Compare, and possibly related to man.

Words formed from human

Phrases with human

85 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with human

Questions about human

What does human mean?: Human means of or belonging to the species Homo sapiens or its closest relatives.
What is human in Hindi?: Human in Hindi is इंसान (insān), मनुष्य (manuṣya), मानव (mānav). See Human meaning in Hindi.
How do you use human in a sentence?: Like most human activities, ballooning has sponsored heroes and hucksters and a good deal in between.
What part of speech is human?: Human can be an adjective, a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce human?: Human is pronounced /ˈhjuː.mən/.

Words near human in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: human (page history and authors); Human (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-human.ogg.

Cite this entry: “human.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/human. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.