humane
/hjʊˈmeɪn
/adjective
1Having or showing compassion or benevolence: regulations ensuring the humane treatment of animals...
- These were the sort of things that tend to blur the clear perception of the visionary - troublesome motes like compassion and humane understanding and social concern.
- She assured him that she and her colleagues would adopt a compassionate and humane approach to all such cases.
- A new understanding of animal rights and humane animal treatment was what led him to become an activist and environmentalist, Mason said.
Synonyms
compassionate, kind, kindly, kind-hearted, considerate, understanding, sympathetic, tolerant, civilized, good, good-natured, gentle;
lenient, forbearing, forgiving, merciful, mild, tender, clement, benign, humanitarian, benevolent, charitable, generous, magnanimous;
approachable, accessible
rare benignant
1.1Inflicting the minimum of pain: humane methods of killing...
- The patch has been found to be highly effective in treating pain in humans, and it may prove to be a more humane pain relief procedure for cats.
- But I am willing to put my concerns to one side if a humane stunning could be inflicted on the animal prior to its slaughter.
- All of the evidence is that a quick death by dogs is the most humane method available.
2 formal (Of a branch of learning) intended to have a civilizing effect on people: the humane education of literary study...
- Transmitters of humane learning and values, Canadian universities had become responsible for the spread of Canadian civilization.
- Those scientists who did not come from the socially privileged classes had even more to gain by establishing reputations as men of humane learning.
- Without adequate monitoring, it is difficult to ensure that materials provided to schools embody the true principles of humane education.
Derivatives
humaneness
/ noun ...- It infuses a spike of excellence, emotional development, humaneness and self discipline.
- More than any other famous person, she captured the hearts of people with her simplicity and humaneness.
- ‘Peter understands as well as anyone that success in an organization needn't ever come at the sacrifice of humaneness,’ he says.
Origin
Late Middle English: the earlier form of human, restricted to the senses above in the 18th century.