Meanings
nouncrime against humanity (plural crimes against humanity)
plural crimes against humanity
- lawA very destructive and immoral act; later specifically, something causing widespread human misery or loss of life; an atrocity.First known use 17th c.
The Holocaust was a terrible crime against humanity; it took the lives of 6 million Jews, 2 million Poles, and hundreds of thousands of Gypsies, homosexuals, Russians, and the elderly and disabled.
3 more examples
Be faithful to your friend that doth entrust you; remembring that perfidiousness or falseness to a friend, is a crime against humanity, and all society.
1629, Richard Baxter, Christian Directory, IV.25Courage remained a virtue. And that exploitation of courage, if I may be allowed to say a thing so obvious, was the essential tragedy of the War, which, as everyone now agrees, was a crime against humanity.
1929, Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting ManA Spanish judge has charged five suspected former leaders of the armed Basque separatist movement ETA with crimes against humanity for attacks carried out by the group after 2004 which killed 12 people.
2015 October 27, The Guardian - colloquialexcessivehumorousSomething objectionable.
“Pineapple on pizza is a crime against humanity,” Leo's voice is flat. Which is weird, because he usually adds “Fight me” at the end of that declaration.
2021 July 13, Sara Fujimura, Faking Reality, Tom Doherty Associates, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC
Translations
Arabic جَرِيمَة ضِدَّ الْإِنْسَانِيَّةَ
- جَرِيمَة ضِدَّ الْإِنْسَانِيَّةَa large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Bulgarian престъпле́ние срещу́ чове́чеството
- престъпле́ние срещу́ чове́чеството (prestăplénie sreštú čovéčestvoto)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Catalan crim de lesa humanitat
- crim de lesa humanitata large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Chinese Mandarin 危害人類罪 /危害人类罪, 反人類罪 /反人类罪
- 危害人類罪 /危害人类罪 (wēihài rénlèi zuì)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
- 反人類罪 /反人类罪 (fǎnrénlèizuì)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
- 違反人道罪 /违反人道罪 (wéifǎnréndàozuì)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Czech zločin proti lidskosti
- zločin proti lidskostia large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Danish forbrydelse mod menneskeheden
- forbrydelse mod menneskehedena large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Dutch misdaad tegen de menselijkheid, misdaad tegen de mensheid
- misdaad tegen de menselijkheida large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
- misdaad tegen de mensheida large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Esperanto krimo kontraŭ la homeco
- krimo kontraŭ la homecoa large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Estonian inimsusevastane kuritegu
- inimsusevastane kuritegua large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Finnish rikos ihmisyyttä vastaan
- rikos ihmisyyttä vastaana large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
French crime contre l'humanité
- crime contre l'humanitéa large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
German Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit, Menschheitsverbrechen
- Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeita large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
- Menschheitsverbrechena large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Greek έγκλημα κατά της ανθρωπότητας
- έγκλημα κατά της ανθρωπότητας (égklima katá tis anthropótitas)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Hebrew פשע נגד האנושות
- פשע נגד האנושות (pésha néged he-enoshút)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Hindi मानवता-विरोधी अपराध
- मानवता-विरोधी अपराध (mānavtā-virodhī aprādh)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Hungarian emberiesség elleni bűntett
- emberiesség elleni bűntetta large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Icelandic glæpur gegn mannkyni
- glæpur gegn mannkynia large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Indonesian kejahatan kemanusiaan, kejahatan terhadap umat manusia
- kejahatan kemanusiaana large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
- kejahatan terhadap umat manusiaa large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Irish coir in aghaidh na daonnachta
- coir in aghaidh na daonnachtaa large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Italian crimine contro l'umanità
- crimine contro l'umanitàa large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Japanese 人道に対する罪
- 人道に対する罪 (jindō ni taisuru tsumi)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Korean 인도에 반한 죄
- 인도에 반한 죄 (indo'e banhan joe)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Latvian noziegumiem pret cilvēci
- noziegumiem pret cilvēcia large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Lithuanian nusikaltimas žmoniškumui
- nusikaltimas žmoniškumuia large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Malay jenayah terhadap kemanusiaan
- jenayah terhadap kemanusiaana large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Norwegian Bokmål forbrytelse mot menneskeheten
- forbrytelse mot menneskehetena large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Persian جنایت علیه بشریت
- جنایت علیه بشریت (jenâyat 'aleye bašariyyat)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Polish zbrodnia przeciwko ludzkości
- zbrodnia przeciwko ludzkościa large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Portuguese crime contra a humanidade
- crime contra a humanidadea large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Romanian crimă contra umanității
- crimă contra umanitățiia large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Russian преступле́ние про́тив челове́чества
- преступле́ние про́тив челове́чества (prestuplénije prótiv čelovéčestva)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Slovak zločin proti ľudskosti
- zločin proti ľudskostia large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Spanish delito de lesa humanidad, crimen de lesa humanidad
- delito de lesa humanidada large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
- crimen de lesa humanidada large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Swedish brott mot mänskligheten
- brott mot mänsklighetena large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Tagalog krimen laban sa sangkatauhan
- krimen laban sa sangkatauhana large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Tamil மானுடத்துக்கு எதிரான குற்றங்கள்
- மானுடத்துக்கு எதிரான குற்றங்கள் (māṉuṭattukku etirāṉa kuṟṟaṅkaḷ)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Thai อาชญากรรมต่อมนุษยชาติ
- อาชญากรรมต่อมนุษยชาติ (àat-yaa-gam-dtɔ̀ɔ-ma-nút-sa-ya-châat)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Turkish insanlığa karşı suçlar
- insanlığa karşı suçlara large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Ukrainian зло́чин про́ти лю́дства
- зло́чин про́ти лю́дства (zlóčyn próty ljúdstva)a large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Vietnamese tội ác chống lại loài người
- tội ác chống lại loài ngườia large-scale persecution of, or atrocity against, a body of people
Cite this entry
APA
crime against humanity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crime%20against%20humanity
MLA
“crime against humanity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crime%20against%20humanity. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crime against humanity,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crime%20against%20humanity.
Source: crime against humanity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.