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.
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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.
One problem is the lack of highly specific biomarkers that can reliably distinguish harmful senescent cells from beneficial ones.
From Science Daily • May 22, 2026
The city has always been good to SpaceX, she added, which resulted in a mutually beneficial relationship.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
Yet doctors eventually assured her that physical activity for a recovering pediatric leukemia patient would be beneficial to his quality of life.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
But the allure of what is displayed is that whatever beneficial qualities the snacks might have aren’t why customers reach for them.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Whatever may have happened in his developing brain, it proved beneficial to his metabolism: from that two and a half days he gained an iron health.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions 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.
