beneficial
Americanadjective
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conferring benefit; advantageous; helpful.
the beneficial effect of sunshine.
- Synonyms:
- profitable, favorable, useful, serviceable, wholesome, salutary
- Antonyms:
- harmful
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Law.
-
helpful in the meeting of needs.
a beneficial association.
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involving the personal enjoyment of proceeds.
a beneficial owner.
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adjective
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(sometimes foll by to) causing a good result; advantageous
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law entitling a person to receive the profits or proceeds of property
a beneficial interest in land
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of beneficial
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Late Latin beneficiālis, equivalent to Latin benefici(um) “kindness” ( see benefice ( def. )) + -ālis -al 1 ( def. )
Explanation
If it's beneficial, then it's good for you — or for something. Studying is beneficial to your grades. Exercise is beneficial to your health. Spend any time with Italians and you will hear the word bene over and over. It comes straight from Latin, and Italians use it as often as we use "good;" it can mean "fine," "okay," "yummy," or "kind and well behaved." Bene gives us beneficial, but also benefit, beneficent, benevolent and more well-meaning words.
Vocabulary lists containing beneficial
List 2
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Take the Bad with the Good: Bene and Mal
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Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 11-20
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Many have legitimate, beneficial uses, like archiving web data.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
I think it would be helpful, or beneficial, however you want to phrase it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
Many faith leaders tell me they are hoping to steer a technology to ensure it is beneficial to humanity—not harmful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
The drug stimulated the release of two beneficial signaling proteins, HSP70 and midkine.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
It is a bit of a chemical oddity in that at ground level it is a pollutant, while way up in the stratosphere it is beneficial, since it soaks up dangerous ultraviolet radiation.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
