beneficent

[buh-nef-uh-suhnt]

adjective

1. doing good or causing good to be done; conferring benefits; kindly in action or purpose.

beneficent

/ bɪˈnɛfɪsənt /

adjective

1. charitable; generous

Other Word Forms

• beneficently adverb
• nonbeneficent adjective
• nonbeneficently adverb
• unbeneficent adjective
• unbeneficently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of beneficent¹

First recorded in 1610–20; benefic(ence) + -ent

Word History and Origins

Origin of beneficent¹

C17: from Latin beneficent- , from beneficus ; see _benefice

Example Sentences

I want to have the greatest beneficent impact on the largest number of people.

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Plus, a lot of social policies that many Californians consider beneficent and broad-minded that, to put it mildly, others around the country consider much less so.

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Virgil’s journey toward a beneficent existence starts with a family member’s funeral, continues through another relative’s hospice stay and then achieves fulfillment with our hero’s compassion-driven decision to look after the dead.

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She brought to the ghostly role her own expansive sense of history — once again revealing eternity through her beneficent, dazzling, invincible artistry.

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“Not that they were perfect by any means, but they were infinitely more successful and beneficent colonizers than other European countries.”

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