1
: marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals
humane prison guards
a more humane way of treating farm animals
2
: characterized by or tending to broad humanistic culture : humanistic
humane studies
humanely
adverb
Synonyms
Examples of humane in a Sentence
It's not humane to treat animals that way.
Conditions in the prison are more humane now.
Recent Examples on the Web
State officials have argued death by nitrogen gas is a humane, painless form of execution and that the person would lose consciousness within seconds of inhaling the nitrogen and die within minutes.
—
Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 25 Sep. 2024
What are the odds of an escaped pet bird landing at the bird feeder of the local humane society's CEO?
—Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 21 Sep. 2024
His celebrity grew bigger, his witness-bearing more lucid, ever less self-regarding and only more humane.
—Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2024
The loss of self has never seemed quite so terrifying — let alone so tragic, given how deeply humane Debraj comes off in his best and very worst moments.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for humane 
Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 25 Sep. 2024
What are the odds of an escaped pet bird landing at the bird feeder of the local humane society's CEO?
—Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 21 Sep. 2024
His celebrity grew bigger, his witness-bearing more lucid, ever less self-regarding and only more humane.
—Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 17 Sep. 2024
The loss of self has never seemed quite so terrifying — let alone so tragic, given how deeply humane Debraj comes off in his best and very worst moments.
—Indiewire Staff, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for humane
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'humane.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near humane
Cite this Entry
“Humane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/humane. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.
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