Epäinhimilliseen

Epäinhimilliseen is the illative singular form of the Finnish adjective epäinhimillinen, which means inhumane or lacking humanity. The term is used to describe actions, conditions, or treatments that are considered cruel, brutal, or devoid of compassion. As a negative descriptor, epäinhimillinen is common in discussions of human rights, ethics, and policy critique.

Etymology and form: epä- is a negative prefix in Finnish, attached to inhimi­llinen, itself formed from ihminen (human) with the suffix -llinen to create an adjective. Epäinhimillinen therefore literally conveys “not humane” or “inhumane.” The form epäinhimilliseen is the illative case used when the noun it modifies appears in illative, for example in phrases meaning “to inhumane treatment” or “into inhumane conditions.”

Usage: The adjective is most often found in serious, formal, or journalistic contexts. It commonly collocates with nouns like kohtelu (treatment), olo (conditions), politiikka (policy), and käytäntö (practice). It conveys a strong moral judgment about conduct or circumstances that fall outside accepted standards of humanity or decency.

Examples in context: Epäinhimillinen kohtelu refers to inhumane treatment, for instance in human rights reporting. Epäinhimillisiin oloihin describes living conditions deemed cruel or degrading. The term can also appear in critiques of official policy or organizational practices that are judged to violate basic human dignity.

See also: inhimillinen, epäinhimillinen käytäntö, ihmisoikeudet.