Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <phrase-usage>
Title: What word can I use for saying 'Beyond Human'
Question: Consider this expression   What Brad Pitt did in the movie  Money Ball  was beyond human, he turned down an offer of   12.3 million to stay loyal to his team.   What similar words can I use here for "beyond human"?

Answers:
sents: text: In general "superhuman" is probably the best choice.
text: In the example given, "unquestionable loyalty" probably describes him better.
text: But that would not be "superhuman".
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/None/
score: 10
sents: text: The term selfless may be applied here if your intent is 'extra ordinary gesture from Brad Pitt to his current team' selfless :
text: Having, exhibiting, or motivated by no concern for oneself; unselfish What Brad Pitt did in the movie "Money Ball" was truly selfless - he turned down an offer of 12.3 million to stay loyal to his team.
text: Selfless acts are often viewed by others as superhuman and sometimes implausible because people are generally expected to act in their own rational self interest and selfless acts don't fit that mold.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/147/Jim
score: 6
sents: text: Angelic.
text: Exceptional.
text: Exemplary.
text: Kingly.
text: Superior.
text: Above and beyond.
text: Beyond the call of duty.
text: Beyond belief.
text: Noble.
text: (You can emphasize "noble" by restructuring to: "showed true nobility.")
text: Mind-blowing.
text: Unimpeachable.
text: And many more.
text: It all depends on the connotation you're after.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/897/John M. Landsberg
score: 3
sents: text: A phrase works best for me to describe Brad Pitt's character's act of generosity: "the epitome of selflessness" From the Google dictionary: e·pit·o·me (/iˈpitəmē/) Noun: 1.A person or thing that is a perfect example of a particular quality or type: "she is the epitome of elegance and taste".
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/896/Kristina Lopez
score: 3
sents: text: "Extraordinary" makes a lot of sense here, as what is human is "ordinary," so "extraordinary" means "beyond human."
text: Something else that sounds good is "incredible," which means "so powerful that I almost can't believe it."
text: "Unbelievable" is a pretty obvious one, too.
text: For your specific situation, I would go with "extraordinary.
text: " It carries a very similar meaning as "beyond human" but sounds a lot better.
text: What Brad Pitt did in the movie Moneyball was extraordinary : he turned down an offer of $12.3 million to stay loyal to his team.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/898/Jackson
score: 2
sents: text: I am taking the meaning as what he has done is something too virtuous to be expected from any human , because according to me that is what fits here well.
text: You can say Godlike which means "beyond human".
text: What Brad Pitt did in the movie Money Ball was godlike , he turned down an offer of 12.3 million to stay loyal to his team.
text: Also extraordinary fits quite well, which means pleasant, exceptional and unexpected in general (i.e. from normal human being in this context)
text: What Brad Pitt did in the movie Money Ball was extraordinary , he turned down an offer of 12.3 million to stay loyal to his team.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/91/Mistu4u
score: 1
sents: text: Altruist may be a good choice.
text: Dictionary.com defines altruist as following: altruist —
text: a person unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others (opposed to egoist ).
text: altruism — 1.
text: the principle or practice of unselfish concern for the welfare of others; 2.
text: the philosophical doctrine that right action is that which produces the greatest benefit to others; So, What Brad Pitt did in the movie Money Ball was altruistic , he turned down an offer of 12.3 million to stay loyal to his team.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/27/bytebuster
score: 0
sents: text: I think the following three words are the best in the following order Extraordinary http://thesaurus.com/browse/extraordinary Stunning - http://thesaurus.com/browse/stunning
text: Incredible http://thesaurus.com/browse/incredible Check by replacing these words in your sentence.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/894/EnglishLearner
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
Many terms can be used in this context: the epitome of selflessness; extraordinary; incredible; unbelievable; godlike; altruistic; selfless; angelic; exceptional; exemplary; kingly; superior; above and beyond; beyond belief; beyond the call of duty; noble; mind-blowing; unimpeachable; superhuman; and of unquestionable loyalty.
Extraordinary, loyal, unbelievable and selfless can all work.