Humanlike means resembling or similar to humans in appearance, behavior, or characteristics. A robot with arms, legs, and a face that looks like a person is humanlike. When scientists study chimpanzees and discover they use tools, show emotions, and solve problems, they're observing humanlike intelligence.

The word helps us describe things that aren't actually human but share human qualities. Ancient myths featured humanlike gods who felt jealousy, love, and anger just like people do. Modern video game characters often have humanlike movements and expressions, even if they're aliens or fantasy creatures. When artificial intelligence programs learn to write stories or hold conversations, people say they're becoming more humanlike.

You might also see this quality called humanoid, especially when describing robots or aliens in science fiction. The word anthropomorphic means giving humanlike characteristics to animals or objects, like when cartoon animals talk and wear clothes.

Scientists use “humanlike” carefully because the more they study other animals, the more they discover that traits we thought were uniquely human, like using tools or feeling grief, exist in other species too. This makes us wonder: what does it really mean to be humanlike?