Humanist

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Humanist \Hu"man*ist\ (h[=u]"man*[i^]st), n. [Cf. F. humaniste.]
     1. One of the scholars who in the field of literature proper
        represented the movement of the Renaissance, and early in
        the 16th century adopted the name Humanist as their
        distinctive title. --Schaff-Herzog.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. One who pursues the study of the humanities, or polite
        literature.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. One versed in knowledge of human nature.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A person with a strong concern for human welfare,
        especially one who emphasizes the dignity and worth of
        individual people, rejecting claims of supernatural
        influences on humans, and stressing the need for people to
        achieve improvement of society and self-fulfillment
        through reason and to develop human-oriented ethical
        values without theism; an adherent of humanism.
        [PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  humanist
       adj 1: of or pertaining to Renaissance humanism; "the humanistic
              revival of learning" [syn: {humanistic}]
       2: of or pertaining to a philosophy asserting human dignity and
          man's capacity for fulfillment through reason and
          scientific method and often rejecting religion; "the
          humanist belief in continuous emergent evolution"- Wendell
          Thomas [syn: {humanistic}]
       3: pertaining to or concerned with the humanities; "humanistic
          studies"; "a humane education" [syn: {humanistic}, {humane}]
       4: marked by humanistic values and devotion to human welfare;
          "a humane physician"; "released the prisoner for
          humanitarian reasons"; "respect and humanistic regard for
          all members of our species" [syn: {human-centered}, {human-centred},
           {humanistic}, {humanitarian}]
       n 1: a classical scholar or student of the liberal arts
       2: an advocate of the principles of humanism

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  34 Moby Thesaurus words for "humanist":
     academician, bookman, classicist, clerk, colossus of knowledge,
     esprit fort, freethinker, genius, giant of learning,
     latitudinarian, learned clerk, learned man, literary man,
     litterateur, lover of learning, man of learning, man of letters,
     mastermind, mine of information, philologist, philologue,
     philomath, philosophe, philosopher, polyhistor, polymath, pundit,
     savant, scholar, scholastic, schoolman, secular humanist, student,
     walking encyclopedia