INHUMANE Synonyms: 144 Similar and Opposite Words

inhumane

adjective

ˌin-(ˌ)hyü-ˈmān

Definition of inhumane

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

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

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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 Germany's Constitutional Court ruled last year that the extradition was unlawful because it could not be guaranteed that the defendant would not be subject to inhumane or degrading treatment in Hungarian custody. — Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026 My office will hold their victimizer fully accountable for her inhumane actions. — Eric MacK, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026 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 Still, this particular ban didn’t need to go in the Constitution – a simple law would have sufficed or, better yet, allowing the CPW board to determine if these traps were too inhumane to allow. — The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 15 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inhumane

Recent Examples of Synonyms for inhumane

Adjective

She is described as brusque, cantankerous, ruthless — and also a killer.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Such ruthless prioritization produced some admirable results.

— Julianne Smith, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruthless

Adjective

In response to legislation to end the cruelty once and for all, the Daily News once again trotted out its old and tired defense of this cruel, deadly and outdated industry.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Policing cringe is the cruelest métier of the internet—the origin of harassment campaigns and platforming of contempt.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of cruel

Adjective

The book’s humor is sharp and merciless, akin to that of a standup comedy show, and yet the things described are far from funny.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of merciless

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

So too, the possibility of Rollerball-style carnage carnivals where robots compete in vicious cage matches until only one android is still moving.

— Rick Burton, Sportico.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Cash reserves totaling $ 7,450,869 are being used to eviscerate his opponent with a vicious barrage of ad hominem assaults, thus giving him a 61 to 1 spending edge.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of vicious

Adjective

Onscreen, this ethnic conflict allowed Ken-san and other kimonoed gangsters to be presented as pure, sincere, patriotic heroes fighting for traditional Japanese values against savage aliens as well as local, gun-toting yakuza.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
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

Definition of savage

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inhuman

inhumane

inhumanely

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“Inhumane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inhumane. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of inhumane

adjective

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