humanist
a person having a strong interest in or concern for human welfare, values, and dignity.
a person devoted to or versed in the humanities.
a student of human nature or affairs.
a classical scholar.
(sometimes initial capital letter) any one of the scholars of the Renaissance who pursued and disseminated the study and understanding of the cultures of ancient Rome and Greece, and emphasized secular, individualistic, and critical thought.
(sometimes initial capital letter) a person who follows a form of philosophical or scientific humanism.
of or relating to human affairs, nature, welfare, or values: our humanist principles; a humanist approach to social reform.
(sometimes initial capital letter) of or relating to the humanities or classical scholarship, especially that of the Renaissance humanists: humanist studies; the Humanist ideology of Petrarch.
of or relating to philosophical or scientific humanism: a humanist philosophy that clashed with his parents’ religious beliefs.
Origin of humanist
1Other words from humanist
- hu·man·is·ti·cal·ly, adverb
- an·ti·hu·man·ist, noun, adjective
- an·ti·hu·man·is·tic, adjective
- non·hu·ma·nist, noun
- non·hu·man·is·tic, adjective
- pseu·do·hu·man·is·tic, adjective
- qua·si-hu·man·is·tic, adjective
- sem·i·hu·man·is·tic, adjective
- un·hu·man·is·tic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use humanist in a sentence
She gives no nods to the Humanists, like Montaigne, Francis Bacon, Erasmus, or Descartes.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun | Katie Baker | November 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt was the hundreds, thousands, of humanists from Russia and the Eastern bloc who fought totalitarianism.
Conservatives on the Wrong Side of History on Mandela, Most Other Things | Michael Tomasky | December 10, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Swerve may be more about the world of the humanists who discovered On the Nature of Things, rather than the poem itself.
How I Write: Stephen Greenblatt, Pulitzer Winner of ‘The Swerve’ | Noah Charney | September 19, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTHe was the friend of several great humanists of the period, including Erasmus; he was in Louvain, evidently, in 1518.
A History of the Cambridge University Press | S. C. RobertsIs, then, the work of Marsilio Ficino nothing, the labours of a thousand forgotten humanists?
Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa | Edward Hutton
These two forces united and gave spirit and power to the humanists.
Colleges in America | John Marshall BarkerThe rising German feeling expresses itself on all sides in the letters of the humanists.
The Age of Erasmus | P. S. AllenGreek learning was regarded with suspicion by many churchmen, but the English humanists were orthodox.
Cultural definitions for humanist
In the Renaissance, a scholar who studied the languages and cultures of ancient Greece and Rome; today, a scholar of the humanities. The term secular humanist is applied to someone who concentrates on human activities and possibilities, usually downplaying or denying the importance of God and a life after death.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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