inhumane

adjective

in·​hu·​mane ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān How to pronounce inhumane (audio)
-(ˌ)yü-
: not humane : inhuman sense 1
the inhumane treatment of prisoners
inhumanely adverb

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 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 Smith's final appeal was rejected Thursday evening by a majority of justices in the U.S. Supreme Court, opening the door for a controversial execution method that some experts have criticized as experimental and inhumane. USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2024 Spreading innocuous footage of his private moment with a loved one compounds the inhumane nature of jail and the bizarre nature of his trial, but the sensationalism of the call also distracts from it. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 24 Feb. 2024 The world is on fire, from Israel’s brutal, inhumane attacks on Gaza to the civil war in Sudan to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now two years old. William Hartung, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 His spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, said that marked his 27th time in such an inhumane space, usually a roughly 7-feet-by-10-feet concrete cell with unbearable conditions — cold, damp and poorly ventilated. Ivan Nechepurenko, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024 But critics say the bill allows executions in an inhumane manner and speeds up the execution process in a way that risks limiting a defendant’s ability to exhaust their federal and state appeals. Katie Bernard, Kansas City Star, 16 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.

Word History

Etymology

Middle French inhumain & Latin inhumanus

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of inhumane was in 1536

Dictionary Entries Near inhumane

Cite this Entry

“Inhumane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inhumane. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

inhumane

adjective
in·​hu·​mane ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān How to pronounce inhumane (audio)
-(ˌ)yü-
: not humane : inhuman sense 1
inhumane treatment of prisoners
inhumanely adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on inhumane

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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