A person who supports humanism—a worldview that places human dignity, reason, and the well-being of the individual at the center.
example
Als überzeugter Humanist setzt er sich für Bildung und die Rechte aller Menschen ein.
As a convinced humanist, he advocates for education and the rights of all people.
Usage tips
Word structure
The ending '-ist' denotes a person who follows a certain belief or activity. 'Humanist' is therefore a person who follows humanism.
EXAMPLE
Als Künstler und Humanist setzte er sich für Frieden ein.
As an artist and humanist, he advocated for peace.
Grammar: N-declension
'Der Humanist' (the humanist) belongs to the N-declension. This means it takes the ending '-en' in all cases except the nominative singular.
EXAMPLE
Das ist die Meinung eines Humanisten.
That is the opinion of a humanist.
Word family
The word belongs to a family: 'der Humanismus' (humanism) is the worldview, 'der Humanist' (the humanist) is the person, and 'humanistisch' (humanist/humanistic) is the corresponding adjective.
EXAMPLE
Sie vertritt eine humanistische Position.
She represents a humanist position.
Context clue
This meaning is used almost exclusively in a historical context. When the Renaissance, ancient languages, or scholars like Petrarch are mentioned, Renaissance humanists are meant.
EXAMPLE
Im Geschichtsunterricht haben wir über die italienischen Humanisten des 15. Jahrhunderts gesprochen.
In history class, we talked about the Italian humanists of the 15th century.