Benevolent Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of BENEVOLENT is marked by or disposed to doing good. How to use benevolent in a sentence. Benevolent Has a Good History. Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut benevolent adjective SaveWord be·​nev·​o·​lent |\bə-ˈnev-lənt ,-ˈne-və-\ Definitionofbenevolent 1a :markedbyordisposedtodoinggood abenevolentdonor b :organizedforthepurposeofdoinggood abenevolentsociety 2 :markedbyorsuggestiveofgoodwill benevolentsmiles Keepscrollingformore OtherWordsfrombenevolent Synonyms&Antonyms BenevolentHasaGoodHistory MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutbenevolent Keepscrollingformore OtherWordsfrombenevolent benevolently adverb benevolentness noun Synonyms&Antonymsforbenevolent Synonyms beneficent,benignant,compassionate,good-hearted,humane,kind,kindhearted,kindly,softhearted,sympathetic,tender,tenderhearted,warmhearted Antonyms atrocious,barbaric,barbarous,bestial,brutal,brute,brutish,callous,cold-blooded,cruel,fiendish,hard-hearted,heartless,inhuman,inhumane,insensate,sadistic,savage,truculent,uncompassionate,unfeeling,unkind,unkindly,unsympathetic,vicious,wanton VisittheThesaurusforMore  BenevolentHasaGoodHistory Onewhoisbenevolentgenuinelywishesotherpeoplewell,ameaningreflectedclearlyintheword'sLatinroots:benevolentcomesfrombene,meaning"good,"andvelle,meaning"towish."OtherdescendantsofvelleinEnglishincludevolition,whichreferstothepowertomakeone'sownchoicesordecisions,andvoluntary,aswellastherarevelleity,meaningeither"thelowestdegreeofvolition"or"aslightwishortendency."Amorefamiliarvelledescendantstandsdirectlyopposedtobenevolent:malevolentdescribessomeoneorsomethinghavingorshowingadesiretocauseharmtoanotherperson. ExamplesofbenevolentinaSentence Treesthatsizearelikewhales,sortofbenevolentintheirhugebulk… —SebastianJunger,ThisOldHouse,March/April1998 Grandfathersometimesturnedonuslikeariggedtrap,andofcoursethebenevolentgazeofthesagebecametheglareofthepatriarch. —DarrylPinckney,HighCotton,1992 ASouthernwriterisallowedhiseccentricities.Theprevailingattitudeisakindofbenevolentneglect. —WalkerPercy,"WhyILiveWhereILive,"1980, inSignpostsinaStrangeLand, 1991 Theytoreoutthewindowsoftheclub'ssimplestorefrontandbrickedthemoverandlefttwomuchsmallerwindows…sothatthelookoftheclubchangedfromthatofabenevolentneighborhoodorganizationtothatofaparamilitaryone. —"TheTalkoftheTown," NewYorker, 26Feb.1990 agiftfromabenevolentdonor Hebelongedtoseveralbenevolentsocietiesandcharitableorganizations. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Privateinterestsandfreemarketsaccomplishedwhatnobenevolentking’sredistribution,nolovingbishop’scharity,nomercantilisticprotectionism,andnopowerfulguildeverdid—deliverbroad,unendingprosperity. — PhilGrammAndMikeSolon,WSJ,23May2022 Afterhisdeathbedrepentance,hewill,apparently,beabsolvedofallhissinsandreturnassortofabenevolentangel. — ScottD.Pierce,TheSaltLakeTribune,22May2022 Populardiscoursealternatesbetweenavisionofbenevolentmachines—onesthatcould,say,carryoutdangerousorgruellingtasks—andoneofjob-stealingrobots. — JaneHu,TheNewYorker,18May2022 Business-bossShayacknowledgedthateventhosemostbenevolentdollarsignsareultimatelyproducedbyvictories. — BillPlaschke,LosAngelesTimes,18May2022 TheformerempireandheirtotheSovietUnion,RussiahasbeenpubliclypreachingagospelofcooperationwiththeWestforthelasttwodecades,yetnoonewatchingtrulybelievesPutin’sRussiatobeabenevolentgiantthatspans11timezones. — PhilipElliott,Time,20Apr.2022 UnfortunatelyforRiley,whomeetswiththepriestinprivateAAsessionsthattakeonunexpecteddimensions,FatherPaul’sfaithismorecenteredonthecharismaofFatherPaulthanonanybenevolenthigherpower. — DanielD'addario,Variety,20Sep.2021 TheMarcosesremainenormouslypopularintheirhomeprovince,wheretheyareviewedasbenevolentpatrons. — FelizSolomon,WSJ,10May2022 Musk’sargumentisthatunderthismethodofcorporateaccountability,Twitterhaslostitswayandbecomecensorious;thatthecompanyneedstohandpowertoabenevolentdictator—himself—tobringfreedombackformoreusers. — MattPearcestaffWriter,LosAngelesTimes,15Apr.2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'benevolent.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. Keepscrollingformore FirstKnownUseofbenevolent 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a HistoryandEtymologyforbenevolent MiddleEnglish,fromLatinbenevolent-,benevolens,frombene+volent-,volens,presentparticipleofvelletowish—moreatwill Keepscrollingformore LearnMoreAboutbenevolent Sharebenevolent PosttheDefinitionofbenevolenttoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofbenevolentonTwitter TimeTravelerforbenevolent Thefirstknownuseofbenevolentwas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury ListentoOurPodcastAboutbenevolent GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster HowtoUse'Munificent'and'Beneficent' HowtoUse'Munificent'and'Beneficent' Whilewe'reinthegivingmood DictionaryEntriesNearbenevolent benevolence benevolent Benford'sLaw SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforbenevolent LastUpdated 29May2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Benevolent.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/benevolent.Accessed3Jun.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforbenevolent benevolent adjective be·​nev·​o·​lent |\bə-ˈne-və-lənt \ KidsDefinitionofbenevolent 1 :havingadesiretodogood:kindly abenevolentorganization 2 :markedbyorsuggestiveofakindlyfeeling abenevolentface OtherWordsfrombenevolent benevolently adverb smiledbenevolently MorefromMerriam-Websteronbenevolent Nglish:TranslationofbenevolentforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofbenevolentforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY perfunctory SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary WhichWordDoesNotBelong? Whichofthesewordsdoesnotmean"nonsense"? sagacity bunkum blatherskite folderol Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay You're(Probably)SayingItWrong 18wordsevenyoumightbemispronouncing GreatBigListofBeautiful&UselessWords Alongwiththeirdegreesofusefulness 12FrenchPhrasesfromDowntonAbbey Manyofushavean'idéefixe' RareandAmusingInsults,Volume2 Sometimesa'cacafuego'canbeareal'slubberdeg... AsktheEditors Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... 'AllIntensivePurposes'or'AllIntentsandPurposes'? We'reintentonclearingitup Layvs.Lie EditorEmilyBrewsterclarifiesthedifference. WhyDidYankeeDoodleCallaFeather'Macaroni'? What'swithhisfeatheredcap? WordGames SlangThroughTheAges Findoutifyou’reaspacecadetorthebee’s... Takethequiz What’sontheMenu? Sinkyourteethintothesequestionsaboutfood. Takethequiz YearbookSuperlativesQuiz "MostLikelytoUseObscureWords" Takethequiz Lexigo Findthehiddenwordsbysolvingtheclues Takethequiz