human Hear it!

human definition

hu·man (hyo̵̅o̅′mən, yo̵̅o̅′-)

adjective

  1. of, belonging to, or typical of man (Homo sapiens) the human race
  2. consisting of or produced by people human society
  3. having or showing qualities, as rationality or fallibility, viewed as distinctive of people a human act, a human failing

Etymology: ME humayne < OFr humaine < L humanus, akin to homo, a man: see homo

noun

a person: the phrase human being is still preferred by some

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms human idiom

telecom human definition - telecom

human Synonyms

human

modif.

anthropoid, animal, biped, civilized, man-made, anthropomorphic, anthropocentric, anthropological, humanlike, manlike, of man, belonging to humans, humanistic, individual, man's, hominid, proper to man, personal, hominal; see also mortal 2, rational 1, social 1.

Antonyms divine*, bestial*, nonhuman.


human

n.

man, woman, human being, individual, member of the human race, living soul; see also man 1, 2, 3, person 1, woman 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

human Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • kill: Polio, rabies and other vaccines were tested safe in primates but killed humans.

Adjective modifier

  • infect: The risk from bird flu is generally low to most people because the viruses occur mainly among birds and do not usually infect humans.

Modifies a noun

  • being: A living, walking, talking, living human being is a soul.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Those of us who have been labeled with mental illness are not de facto excused from this most fundamental task of becoming human.
human usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

human quotes

Some day science may have the existence of mankind in its power and the human race commit suicide by blowing up the race.

-Adams, Henry Brooks

He long ago learned to eschew the little turf-dances of human encounter.

-Allen, Henry Southworth

   You see tragedy requires persons of heroic stature. It works on the principle of people being more than humanösuper-humanöand also being only too human. But there just aren't many great figures around now, so the tragic mechanisms can't work.

-Amis, Martin Louis

human quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"human." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 3 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/human>

APA Style

human. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 3rd, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/human

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