Meaning & use
human-centric
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Designed or organized around the needs and comfort of people rather than machines, rules, or money.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a human-centric approach. It can also follow a linking verb: the design is human-centric.
Patterns
- human-centric design
- a human-centric approach to something
- make something human-centric
The new office is human-centric, with quiet rooms and plenty of daylight.
She argues that health care should be human-centric, not driven by paperwork.
Their human-centric approach to software means users test every feature early.
adjectivecomparable
Treating people's feelings and experience as the most important part of a situation or decision.
Grammar: Often describes policies, leadership, or management styles: a human-centric leader.
Patterns
- human-centric leadership
- human-centric policy
Human-centric leadership asks managers to listen before they decide.
The report calls for a more human-centric immigration policy.
Word forms
| comparative | more human-centric |
|---|---|
| superlative | most human-centric |
Common combinations
- human-centric design
- Human-centric design puts the user's real habits first.
- human-centric approach
- We need a human-centric approach to remote work.
- human-centric technology
- Human-centric technology should be easy for everyone to use.
- become more human-centric
- The company has become more human-centric since the new CEO arrived.
Synonyms and how they differ
- people-centered
- Very close in meaning; it is the more everyday American spelling and sounds slightly warmer than human-centric.
- user-friendly
- Narrower: it describes something easy to use, while human-centric also covers feelings, health, and fairness.
- person-centered
- Common in health and social care for treating each patient as an individual; human-centric is broader and more business-like.
Opposites
Word family
- human-centricity noun
- The quality of being designed around people.
Commonly confused: human-centric or humanitarian?
human-centric vs humanitarian
Humanitarian means helping people in serious need, such as disaster victims; human-centric only means that people are the focus of a design or policy.
Practice
The company redesigned its app to be more ______, testing it with real users at every stage.
Choose one answer.
Human-centric fits because the design is built around users' needs. Humanitarian is about helping people in crisis, humane is about being kind to people or animals, and humanoid describes something that looks like a human.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “human-centric”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.