Standard Lemma guide

inhuman

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ɪnˈhjuːmən/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːmən
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N HH Y UW1 M AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or pertaining to inhumanity and the indifferently cruel, sadistic or barbaric behavior it brings.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: demonic, inhumane, truculent, barbarous, bowelless, brutal, compassionless, cruel, despiteful, diabolic, diabolical, fell, incessive, inclement, inhuman, malicious, merciless, nasty, nonhumane, pitiless, remorseless, rotten, ruthless, sadistic, savage, spiteful, unbenevolent, unbenign, unkind, unmerciful, unpitiful, unpitying, animalistic, barbarian, barbaric, barbarious, brutish, Gothic, Gothlike, grim, heathen, heathenish, heathenly, heathenous, incivil, pagan, tenebrose, uncivil, uncivilized, uncouth, uncultivated, uncultured, uplandish, wolfish

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Transcending or different than what is human.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: preternatural, superhuman

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

belonging to or resembling something nonhuman

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • something dark and inhuman in form
  • a babel of inhuman noises

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

without compunction or human feeling

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • in cold blood
  • cold-blooded killing
  • insensate destruction

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cold, cold-blooded, insensate

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English inhumayne, from Middle French inhumain and its etymon Latin inhūmānus.

Across languages

Translations

109 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: безчове́чен (bezčovéčen) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Bulgarian: жесто́к (žestók) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Bulgarian: свире́п (svirép) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Catalan: inhumà — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 非人 (fēirén) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Czech: nelidský — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Dutch: onmenselijk — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Esperanto: nehoma — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Finnish: epäinhimillinen — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • French: inhumain — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Georgian: არაადამიანური (araadamianuri) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • German: unmenschlich — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Greek: απάνθρωπος (apánthropos) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Ancient Greek: ἀπάνθρωπος (apánthrōpos) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Hindi: अमानवीय (amānvīya) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Ido: nehomala — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Ido: nehomana — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Kazakh: адамгершіліксіз (adamgerşılıksız) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Macedonian: нечовечен (nečovečen) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Macedonian: жесток (žestok) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Old English: unmennisċlīċ — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Romanian: inuman — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Russian: бесчелове́чный (besčelovéčnyj) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Russian: антигума́нный (antigumánnyj) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Russian: жесто́кий (žestókij) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Spanish: inhumano — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Swedish: omänsklig — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Telugu: అమానుషము (amānuṣamu) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Ukrainian: нелю́дський (neljúdsʹkyj) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Ukrainian: нелю́дяний (neljúdjanyj) — of or pertaining to inhumanity
  • Afrikaans: onmenslike — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Albanian: i panjerëzishëm — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Arabic: غَيْر إِنْسَانِيّ (ḡayr ʔinsāniyy) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Azerbaijani: qeyri-insani — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Belarusian: негума́нны (njehumánny) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Belarusian: бесчалаве́чны (bjesčalavjéčny) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Belarusian: нялю́дзкі (njaljúdzki) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Bulgarian: нехума́нен (nehumánen) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Bulgarian: безчове́чен (bezčovéčen) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Burmese: ဆန်သောရက်စက် (hcansau:rakcak) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Catalan: inhumà — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Cebuano: dili-makitawhanong — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不人道的 (bùréndào de) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Corsican: inumanu — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Czech: nelidský — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Czech: nehumánní — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Danish: umenneskelig — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Danish: inhuman — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Dutch: onmenselijk — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Dutch: inhumaan — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Esperanto: malhumana — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Finnish: epäinhimillinen — cruel and savage, not humane
  • French: inhumain — cruel and savage, not humane
  • German: unmenschlich — cruel and savage, not humane
  • German: inhuman — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Greek: αφιλάνθρωπος (afilánthropos) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Hindi: बर्बर (barbar) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Hindi: क्रूर (krūr) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Hungarian: embertelen — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Icelandic: ómannúðlega — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Ido: nehumana — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Ido: nehumanoza — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Indonesian: tak berperikemanusiaan — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Irish: mídhaonnachtúil — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Italian: inumano — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Italian: disumano — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Japanese: 非人道的 (hijindōteki) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Kazakh: адамгершіліксіз (adamgerşılıksız) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Korean: 비인도적 (biindojeok) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Latin: inhumanum — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Latin: inhumanis — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Latvian: nehumāns — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Macedonian: нечовечен (nečovečen) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Macedonian: нехуман (nehuman) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Malayalam: മനുഷ്യത്വരഹിതമായ (manuṣyatvarahitamāya) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Maltese: inumani — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Norwegian Bokmål: inhuman — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Norwegian Bokmål: umenneskelig — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Old English: unmennisċlīċ — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Persian: غیر انسانی (ġeyr-e ensâni) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Plautdietsch: ommenschlich — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Polish: niehumanitarny — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Portuguese: inumano — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Portuguese: desumano — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Portuguese: desumana — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Romanian: inuman — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Romanian: neomenos — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Russian: бесчелове́чный (besčelovéčnyj) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Russian: негума́нный (negumánnyj) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Serbo-Croatian: не̏хума̄н — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Serbo-Croatian: не̏човечан — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Serbo-Croatian: не̏човјечан — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Serbo-Croatian: nȅhumān — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Serbo-Croatian: nȅčovečan — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Serbo-Croatian: nȅčovječan — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Slovak: neľudský — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Slovak: nehumánny — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Slovene: nehuman — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Slovene: nečlovečen — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Spanish: inhumano — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Swedish: omänsklig — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Swedish: inhuman — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Tajik: ғайриинсонӣ (ġayriyinsoni) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Telugu: అమానవీయంగా (amānavīyaṅgā) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Ukrainian: негума́нний (nehumánnyj) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Ukrainian: нелю́дський (neljúdsʹkyj) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Ukrainian: нелю́дяний (neljúdjanyj) — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Uzbek: gʻayriinsoniy — cruel and savage, not humane
  • Yiddish: אוממענטשלעך (ummentshlekh) — cruel and savage, not humane
Real reading context

inhuman in complete knowledge articles