Definition

Adverb: * In a manner that is cruel, brutal, or lacking compassion and kindness; without humanity.

Usage

The adverb "inhumanely" is used to describe how an action is performed, specifically emphasizing the cruel, callous, or brutal nature of that action. It modifies verbs. * It is most commonly used with verbs related to treatment, such as treat, act, behave, or more specific verbs like confine, experiment on, slaughter. * It often appears in contexts discussing ethics, animal welfare, human rights, or wartime conduct.

Examples

• The report condemned the factory for inhumanely confining the animals in tiny cages.
• Protesters argued that the new law would allow people to be inhumanely deported.
• History is filled with examples of one group inhumanely subjugating another.

Advanced Usage

• "to act inhumanely": To behave in a way that shows a complete lack of human decency or compassion.
  • The officer was dismissed for acting inhumanely toward the detainees.
• "inhumanely caused suffering": Suffering that results directly from cruel treatment.
  • The court focused on the inhumanely caused suffering of the victims.

Variants and Related Words

• Inhumane (adjective): Describing something that is cruel or lacking compassion.
  • The conditions in the prison were inhumane.
• Humanely (adverb): The direct opposite, meaning in a compassionate, kind, and merciful manner.
  • The veterinarian ensured the animal was euthanized humanely.

Synonyms

• Cruelly
• Brutally
• Barbarically
• Savagely
• Mercilessly

Antonyms

• Humanely
• Compassionately
• Kindly
• Mercifully

Related Phrases

• Treat inhumanely: The most common collocation, meaning to deal with or behave toward someone or something with cruelty.
  • It is a crime to treat prisoners of war inhumanely.

Adverb

1. in an inhumane manner
   • the prisoners of war were treated inhumanely