beneficial
Americanadjective
-
conferring benefit; advantageous; helpful.
the beneficial effect of sunshine.
- Synonyms:
- profitable, favorable, useful, serviceable, wholesome, salutary
- Antonyms:
- harmful
-
Law.
-
helpful in the meeting of needs.
a beneficial association.
-
involving the personal enjoyment of proceeds.
a beneficial owner.
-
adjective
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(sometimes foll by to) causing a good result; advantageous
-
law entitling a person to receive the profits or proceeds of property
a beneficial interest in land
Other Word Forms
- beneficially adverb
- beneficialness noun
- nonbeneficial adjective
- nonbeneficially adverb
- nonbeneficialness noun
- quasi-beneficial adjective
- quasi-beneficially adverb
- unbeneficial adjective
- unbeneficially adverb
- unbeneficialness noun
Etymology
Origin of beneficial
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Late Latin beneficiālis, equivalent to Latin benefici(um) “kindness” ( 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.
Focusing on capabilities you have that “AI can’t easily replace” — like communication, teamwork, creative thinking and problem-solving — can also be beneficial, she added.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
Traditional oral care products like alcohol-based mouthwashes and chlorhexidine solutions kill harmful bacteria, but they also wipe out beneficial microbes.
From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026
What’s Next: As for the USMCA, Tai says keeping the pact in place would be more beneficial than bilateral deals, which would be complex to administer and comply with.
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
Joining a union, or helping to create one, channels your disappointment into something concrete and potentially beneficial.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
Whenever insecticides are applied only minimum dosages are used — barely enough to control the pest without avoidable harm to beneficial species.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
