Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Lacking human qualities of compassion or mercy; cruel and barbaric: Describes actions, behavior, or treatment that is extremely brutal, showing no pity or kindness.
   • Not human in nature or character; monstrous or alien: Describes something that does not belong to or resemble a human being, often suggesting something terrifying or unnatural.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • The prisoners suffered under inhuman conditions. (This describes treatment that is cruel and devoid of basic human decency.)
  • The soldiers were accused of inhuman brutality. (This describes behavior that is savagely cruel.)
  • The creature let out an inhuman shriek. (This describes a sound that is monstrous or not typical of a human.)
  • He stared with an almost inhuman intensity. (This describes a quality that seems alien or superhuman.)

Advanced Usage

• "inhuman treatment": Treatment that is cruel and violates basic human dignity.
  • The report documented cases of inhuman treatment in the detention centers.
• "inhuman strength": Strength that is so great it seems beyond normal human capability.
  • In his rage, he displayed an inhuman strength, lifting the heavy beam alone.

Variants and Related Words

• Inhumanity (n): Extreme cruelty or brutality.
  • The inhumanity of the war shocked the world.
• Inhumanely (adv): In a cruel or brutal manner.
  • The animals were treated inhumanely.
• Nonhuman (adj): Simply not human; this is a more neutral term than "inhuman," which carries a strong negative connotation.
  • Dolphins are highly intelligent nonhuman animals.

Synonyms

• Cruel: Willfully causing pain or suffering to others.
• Barbaric: Savagely cruel; exceedingly brutal.
• Brutal: Savagely violent, punishing, or harsh.
• Heartless: Lacking sympathy or feeling; unfeeling.
• Monstrous: Shockingly hideous or wicked.

Antonyms

• Humane: Having or showing compassion or benevolence.
• Compassionate: Feeling or showing sympathy and concern for others.
• Merciful: Showing or exercising mercy.

Related Phrases

• "Crimes against humanity": A legal term for acts of persecution or extermination directed against a civilian population, which are often described as inhuman acts.
  • The tribunal was established to prosecute crimes against humanity.
• "Inhuman and degrading treatment": A legal phrase, often found in human rights contexts, describing treatment that causes severe physical or mental suffering.
  • International law prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment.

Adjective

1. belonging to or resembling something nonhuman
   • something dark and inhuman in form
   • a babel of inhuman noises
2. without compunction or human feeling
   • in cold blood
   • cold-blooded killing
   • insensate destruction