Inhumane

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌɪnhjuːˈmeɪn/

Definitions

1. Characterized by a complete disregard for human welfare, often manifesting cruelty and a lack of empathy towards others
2. Defined by an absence of compassion that leads to harsh and cruel treatment of individuals, impacting their dignity
3. Showing a harsh and cruel nature without any concern for others' feelings or suffering

Etymology: Inhumane and inhuman were once interchangeable. Both descend from Latin "inhūmānus", meaning savage or lacking refinement, and for a time English used the two forms for the same sense. The shorter form won out, and the longer one survived as the spelling people reach for when they mean cruelty rather than mere non-human qualities. The spelling inhumane seems to have dropped out of use by the 1600s. It then came back in the 1800s, and the likeliest explanation is that writers rebuilt it as the opposite of humane, attaching the prefix in- to a word that already meant kind, gentle, or compassionate. In that sense the word is a fairly transparent compound, a negation of humane rather than a direct inheritance from Latin.

Synonyms: cruel, brutal, inhuman, merciless, heartless

Antonyms: humane, kind, compassionate, merciful, gentle