humane

adjective

hu·​mane hyü-ˈmān 

yü-

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

humaneness

hyü-ˈmān-nəs 

yü-

noun

Synonyms

• beneficent
• benevolent
• benignant
• compassionate
• good-hearted
• kind
• kindhearted
• kindly
• softhearted
• sympathetic
• tender
• tenderhearted
• warmhearted

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

Once the animals left the vet and moved to the shelter, they were split up while there, as cats aren't housed in the dog boarding area of the humane society. —Charlotte Phillipp, People.com, 31 Mar. 2025

The humane society is in Clearwater, west of Tampa. —Simone Jasper, Miami Herald, 28 Mar. 2025

Nearly a dozen dead puppies were discovered in a bookbag left on the side of the road in Youngstown, Ohio, a local humane society said. —Jonathan Limehouse, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2025

Jones and her husband are now rescuing dogs in Belize and plan to open a humane society there, according to MAMCO’s website. —Graeme Taskerud, Denver Post, 25 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English humain

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for humane

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arcane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign

Kids Definition

humane

adjective

hu·​mane hyü-ˈmān 

yü-

: marked by sympathy or consideration for others

humanely adverb

humaneness

-ˈmān-nəs 

noun