inhuman
inhuman Lexical Profile
inhuman Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Lacking human qualities of compassion, mercy, or warmth; extremely cruel and brutal.
"The international tribunal condemned the regime for subjecting political prisoners to inhuman treatment."
Not human in nature, appearance, or origin, especially in a way that seems eerie, monstrous, or otherworldly.
"An inhuman shriek echoed through the dense fog, startling the hikers on the mountain trail."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'inhuman' and 'inhumane' overlap in describing cruelty, 'inhuman' is stronger, suggesting a complete absence of human qualities or monstrous brutality, whereas 'inhumane' focuses specifically on a lack of compassion or kindness toward suffering.
• Rhymes for inhuman
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 15th century from Middle French inhumain or directly from Latin inhumanus ('savage, uncivilized, unfeeling'), formed from the privative prefix in- ('not') and humanus ('human, humane').