Benevolent

//bəˈnɛvələnt// adj

adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Having a disposition to do good.

    "Chinese and Eastern mythologies describe dragons as benevolent."

  2. 2
    Possessing or manifesting love for mankind.
  3. 3
    Altruistic, charitable, good, just and fair.

    "This bill was not a gift from a benevolent legislature; it was a victory for the community which worked for its passage."

Adjective
  1. 1
    generous in assistance to the poor wordnet
  2. 2
    generous in providing aid to others wordnet
  3. 3
    showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity wordnet
  4. 4
    intending or showing kindness wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
eleemosynaryfreeheartedkindaccommodatingadvantageousaffable

Example

More examples

"He was a benevolent old man who volunteered to mow his neighbors' lawns for free."

Etymology

From Old French benevolent, borrowed from Latin benevolēns ("benevolent"). Displaced native Old English welwillende (literally well-wishing).

Related phrases

benevolent absolutismbenevolent assimilationbenevolent dictator for lifebenevolent overlordkind hearted

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.