benevolent

adjective

be·nev·o·lent bə-ˈnev-lənt How to pronounce benevolent (audio)

-ˈne-və-

: marked by or disposed to doing good

a benevolent donor

: organized for the purpose of doing good

a benevolent society

: marked by or suggestive of goodwill

benevolent smiles

benevolently adverb

benevolentness noun

Did you know?

Benevolent Has a Good History

One who is benevolent genuinely wishes other people well, a meaning reflected clearly in the word's Latin roots: benevolent comes from bene, meaning "good," and velle, meaning "to wish." Other descendants of velle in English include volition, which refers to the power to make one's own choices or decisions, and voluntary, as well as the rare velleity, meaning either "the lowest degree of volition" or "a slight wish or tendency." A more familiar velle descendant stands directly opposed to benevolent: malevolent describes someone or something having or showing a desire to cause harm to another person.

Example Sentences

Trees that size are like whales, sort of benevolent in their huge bulk …

Sebastian Junger, This Old House, March/April 1998 Grandfather sometimes turned on us like a rigged trap, and of course the benevolent gaze of the sage became the glare of the patriarch.

Darryl Pinckney, High Cotton, 1992 A Southern writer is allowed his eccentricities. The prevailing attitude is a kind of benevolent neglect.

Walker Percy, "Why I Live Where I Live," 1980, in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991 They tore out the windows of the club's simple storefront and bricked them over and left two much smaller windows … so that the look of the club changed from that of a benevolent neighborhood organization to that of a paramilitary one.

"The Talk of the Town," New Yorker, 26 Feb. 1990 a gift from a benevolent donor He belonged to several benevolent societies and charitable organizations. See More

Recent Examples on the Web Propaganda images of Mao Zedong (who was also a Warhol subject between 1972 and 1973) were much disseminated during his lifetime, but he was always made to look the same: the benevolent founding father of the Chinese nation.

Nick Glass, CNN, 10 Sep. 2022 Condon, wry and warm but no twinkly, benevolent cypher, makes Siobhan the one character who can credibly empathize with both men.

Guy Lodge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2022 Their benevolent offering was an all-inclusive cruise around the Greek islands on a luxury liner containing no fewer than nine fabulous restaurants.

San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2022 In the wake of these allegations, Cal-Poly severed ties with QL+, Monett resigned, and an interim executive director claimed that the charity’s benevolent mission would continue unfazed.

Jasper Craven, The New Republic, 29 Aug. 2022 Saturated in propaganda and the idea that Russia remains a benevolent force, many Russians would be shocked by the idea that Moscow is no better than the Portuguese in Angola or the Spanish in Mexico.

Casey Michel, WSJ, 9 Aug. 2022 Modern bandwidths swarm with stimuli; in this context, culture that aspires to deflect attention can scan as wholesome, benevolent, even virtuous.

Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 14 July 2022 As a reminder, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) killed a somewhat benevolent but out-of-their-mind Kang (Jonathan Majors) variant.

Chris Smith, BGR, 10 Aug. 2022 At the heart of the play are machinations and scheming, of both the benevolent and malevolent sort, designed to steer or derail the course of love.

Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2022 See More

单词	benevolent
释义	benevolent adjective be·nev·o·lent bə-ˈnev-lənt -ˈne-və- 1 a : marked by or disposed to doing good a benevolent donor b : organized for the purpose of doing good a benevolent society 2 : marked by or suggestive of goodwill benevolent smiles benevolently adverb benevolentness noun Did you know? Benevolent Has a Good History One who is benevolent genuinely wishes other people well, a meaning reflected clearly in the word's Latin roots: benevolent comes from bene, meaning "good," and velle, meaning "to wish." Other descendants of velle in English include volition, which refers to the power to make one's own choices or decisions, and voluntary, as well as the rare velleity, meaning either "the lowest degree of volition" or "a slight wish or tendency." A more familiar velle descendant stands directly opposed to benevolent: malevolent describes someone or something having or showing a desire to cause harm to another person. Synonyms beneficent benignant compassionate good-hearted humane kind kindhearted kindly softhearted sympathetic tender tenderhearted warmhearted See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Trees that size are like whales, sort of benevolent in their huge bulk … Sebastian Junger, This Old House, March/April 1998 Grandfather sometimes turned on us like a rigged trap, and of course the benevolent gaze of the sage became the glare of the patriarch. Darryl Pinckney, High Cotton, 1992 A Southern writer is allowed his eccentricities. The prevailing attitude is a kind of benevolent neglect. Walker Percy, "Why I Live Where I Live," 1980, in Signposts in a Strange Land, 1991 They tore out the windows of the club's simple storefront and bricked them over and left two much smaller windows … so that the look of the club changed from that of a benevolent neighborhood organization to that of a paramilitary one. "The Talk of the Town," New Yorker, 26 Feb. 1990 a gift from a benevolent donor He belonged to several benevolent societies and charitable organizations. See More Recent Examples on the Web Propaganda images of Mao Zedong (who was also a Warhol subject between 1972 and 1973) were much disseminated during his lifetime, but he was always made to look the same: the benevolent founding father of the Chinese nation. Nick Glass, CNN, 10 Sep. 2022 Condon, wry and warm but no twinkly, benevolent cypher, makes Siobhan the one character who can credibly empathize with both men. Guy Lodge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2022 Their benevolent offering was an all-inclusive cruise around the Greek islands on a luxury liner containing no fewer than nine fabulous restaurants. San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2022 In the wake of these allegations, Cal-Poly severed ties with QL+, Monett resigned, and an interim executive director claimed that the charity’s benevolent mission would continue unfazed. Jasper Craven, The New Republic, 29 Aug. 2022 Saturated in propaganda and the idea that Russia remains a benevolent force, many Russians would be shocked by the idea that Moscow is no better than the Portuguese in Angola or the Spanish in Mexico. Casey Michel, WSJ, 9 Aug. 2022 Modern bandwidths swarm with stimuli; in this context, culture that aspires to deflect attention can scan as wholesome, benevolent, even virtuous. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 14 July 2022 As a reminder, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) killed a somewhat benevolent but out-of-their-mind Kang (Jonathan Majors) variant. Chris Smith, BGR, 10 Aug. 2022 At the heart of the play are machinations and scheming, of both the benevolent and malevolent sort, designed to steer or derail the course of love. Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2022 See More Word History Etymology Middle English, from Latin benevolent-, benevolens, from bene + volent-, volens, present participle of velle to wish — more at will First Known Use 15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Kids Definition benevolent adjective be·nev·o·lent bə-ˈne-və-lənt 1 : having a desire to do good : kindly a benevolent organization 2 : marked by or suggestive of a kindly feeling a benevolent face benevolent adjective 1 as in compassionate having or marked by sympathy and consideration for others a benevolent willingness to provide veterinary services to low-income families at greatly reduced prices Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance compassionate kind sympathetic beneficent humane gentle gracious thoughtful kindly kindhearted merciful benignant friendly generous nice warmhearted softhearted good-hearted sweet good tenderhearted humanitarian tender benign attentive pleasant patient charitable warm solicitous considerate affable genial noble mild altruistic philanthropic neighborly magnanimous pitying munificent cordial lenient selfless liberal companionable soft forbearing amicable unselfish good-natured forgiving tolerant understanding clement comradely good-tempered brotherly philanthropical unsparing openhearted freehanded anticruelty greathearted cruelty-free Antonyms & Near Antonyms cruel sadistic heartless vicious savage callous brutal ruthless inhuman unkind unsympathetic unfeeling barbarous brute barbaric truculent fiendish brutish bestial inhumane merciless pitiless atrocious insensate unkindly uncaring thoughtless wanton unthinking uncompassionate insensitive malevolent severe stern inconsiderate malignant harsh hard-hearted grim malicious tough cold-blooded spiteful unsentimental malign hateful virulent mean ironhearted nasty uncharitable stonyhearted heavy-handed hard-boiled antihumanitarian See More 2 as in charitable having or showing a concern for the welfare of others a benevolent businessman who has donated money and time to helping inner-city youths Synonyms & Similar Words charitable philanthropic humanitarian philanthropical beneficent generous altruistic good eleemosynary handsome do-good selfless magnanimous compassionate munificent liberal kind unselfish humane kindhearted bountiful bounteous free openhanded openhearted self-sacrificing bighearted unsparing freehanded greathearted social-minded Antonyms & Near Antonyms selfish parsimonious stingy miserly pitiless unfeeling tightfisted self-concerned self-centered cheap tight niggardly self-seeking closefisted self-indulgent hard-hearted self-obsessed See More
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benevolent

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

adjective