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

His legal team has also said Rogers suffers from porphyria, a condition that could make the injection extremely painful and therefore inhumane. —Sophie Clark, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025

Critics have described brutal, violent and inhumane conditions inside the jail for years. —Mark Crudele, ABC News, 13 May 2025

That brutal, inhumane assault was captured on video, yet the officers responsible were acquitted. —Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2025

Some death penalty opponents also criticized pentobarbital as a single-dose lethal injection for being inhumane and causing unnecessary pain and suffering. —Kristin Wright, NPR, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French inhumain & Latin inhumanus

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for inhumane

• aeroplane
• appertain
• ascertain
• capitaine
• cassegrain
• cellophane
• chatelaine
• counterpane
• entertain
• gethsemane
• halothane
• hurricane

Kids Definition

inhumane

adjective

in·​hu·​mane ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān 

-(ˌ)yü-

: not humane : inhuman sense 1

inhumane treatment of prisoners

inhumanely adverb