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
1585–95; <Middle French, French humaniste “classics scholar, classicist” See human, -ist
Mr. Joseph again is much bewildered as to what a humanist can mean when he uses the word knowledge.
Essays in Radical Empiricism|William James
But the Humanist nations, being non-militant, turned a deaf ear.
The Sequel|George A. Taylor
The author's real name was Camillo Scrofa, a humanist and schoolmaster of Vicenza.
Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature|John Addington Symonds
Cultural definitions for humanist
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.