inhumane

adjective

ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān How to pronounce inhumane (audio)
Definition of inhumanenext
1
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings inhumane wardens who regularly ignored the crying children in their care

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cruel
having or showing the desire to inflict severe pain and suffering on others an inhumane dictator who tortured and murdered thousands of his own people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inhumane The inspection took place weeks after the Miami Herald published an investigation into inhumane conditions at Krome — which became so overcrowded that women said they were left on a bus outside in their own urine. — Claire Healy, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026 Homeland Security said that all detainee facilities are clean, and any allegations of inhumane conditions are false. — Gisela Salomon, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026 Illinois has already tried and failed to improve inhumane prison conditions with expensive design projects. — Joan Steffen, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026 How could anyone do this dastardly, inhumane, barbaric escape? — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inhumane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inhumane
  1. ruthless
  2. cruel
  3. merciless
  4. brutal
  5. stony
  6. vicious
  7. savage
Adjective
  • Sure, that sounds ridiculous for a season about rape, infidelity, mass murder, suicide, and society’s ruthless commodification of those very things.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
  • In part, Iran’s political system and ruthless crackdown on protest has given it some insulation from the economic destruction imposed by the blockade and sanctions.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of ruthless
Adjective
  • The policy of sending them to a third country has been condemned as harsh and cruel.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Eight men were killed via gassing until an Alabama district judge ruled the execution method unconstitutionally cruel, in June; the Supreme Court has maintained the block.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of cruel
Adjective
  • Cora, the granddaughter of a woman kidnapped from West Africa and sold into slavery, flees her captor’s plantation, plunging her into the book’s alternate steampunk reality where she is pursued by the merciless slave catcher Ridgeway.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026
  • But the movie very much belongs to Trinca and Bruni Tedeschi, just as Anna belongs to the merciless stranger.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of merciless
Adjective
  • Thirty-two years after Brown Simpson's brutal killing, her sister continues to alert people to the dangers of intimate partner violence.
    — Emily Shapiro, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The Trojans face Washington at the Coliseum before a brutal stretch that includes Penn State, Indiana and Ohio State, with their playoff hopes at stake.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of brutal
Adjective
  • Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.
    — Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
  • Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.
    — Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026
Definition of stony
Adjective
  • Experts are voicing concerns over the vicious cycle of rising debt and higher yields.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Verity dwells almost entirely in the gulf between the front-facing celeb being interviewed by Alex Cooper and the vicious private thoughts of her confession.
    — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of vicious
Adjective
  • The Indian pilot who fought off a savage attack by his copilot and helped prevent an apparent hijack of a Flydubai plane heading to Israel with more than 170 people on board is being hailed as a hero.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index weathered a savage 30% drawdown, has been choppily trendless for two months, then in recent days finally broke above its downtrend and surmounted the 50-day moving average.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of savage

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inhuman
inhumane
inhumanely
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Cite this Entry

“Inhumane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inhumane. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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