- the quality or condition of being human or characteristic of humans: Loss of intellect, as when a person is severely brain-damaged, does not mean loss of humanness.It’s an essay on the humanness of language—how it serves as a hallmark distinguishing humankind from other animals.
- human limitation, weakness, or imperfection: Employers need to embrace the humanness of their workforce, with all its flaws, frailty, and emotional vulnerability.In a fitness class, the sheer humanness of feeling awkward and sweating together relaxes relationships.
- sympathetic, relatable, or humane quality: The memoir was refreshing in its honesty, vulnerability, and humanness.Greed can drive people beyond their humanness into great cruelty and inhumanity.
