inhumane

adjective

in·​hu·​mane ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān 

-(ˌ)yü-

: not humane : inhuman sense 1

the inhumane treatment of prisoners

inhumanely adverb

Synonyms

• affectless
• callous
• case-hardened
• cold-blooded
• compassionless
• desensitized
• hard
• hard-boiled
• hard-hearted
• heartless
• indurate
• inhuman
• insensate
• insensitive
• ironhearted
• merciless
• obdurate
• pachydermatous
• pitiless
• remorseless
• ruthless
• slash-and-burn
• soulless
• stony
• stoney
• stonyhearted
• take-no-prisoners
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• unfeeling
• unmerciful
• unsparing
• unsympathetic

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

If these ranches and farms go, we will be forced to choose inhumane and environmentally poisonous factory farms. —Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 31 Oct. 2024

The only way to re-enter would be illegally by land, in conditions that are dangerous and inhumane. —Nicole Froio, refinery29.com, 29 Oct. 2024

The United Nations in August said Zamora was being held in conditions that may amount to torture, citing a report from a panel of experts, and called on authorities to address allegations of inhumane conditions. —Reuters, NBC News, 25 Oct. 2024

Instead this tangy and terrifying agricultural extravaganza is peppered with gross-out torture that leans heavy into freaky food humor while slow-cooking its wildly inhumane kills. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 11 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French inhumain & Latin inhumanus

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

inhumane

adjective

in·​hu·​mane ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān 

-(ˌ)yü-

: not humane : inhuman sense 1

inhumane treatment of prisoners

inhumanely adverb