benignant

[ bih-nig-nuhnt ]
See synonyms for: benignantbenignancybenignantly on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. kind, especially to inferiors; gracious: a benignant sovereign.

  2. exerting a good influence; beneficial: the benignant authority of the new president.

  1. Pathology. benign.

Origin of benignant

1
1775–85; benign + -ant, modeled on malignant

Other words for benignant

Other words from benignant

  • be·nig·nan·cy [bih-nig-nuhn-see], /bɪˈnɪg nən si/, noun
  • be·nig·nant·ly, adverb
  • un·be·nig·nant, adjective
  • un·be·nig·nant·ly, adverb

Words Nearby benignant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use benignant in a sentence

  • This stubborn resistance lent all the more lustre to the piety of our benignant Rulers.

  • They certainly were attractive specimens of their race, and the Quaker miller who offered them had a most benignant countenance.

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
  • He had a loose hairy benignant face with a humorous but penetrating eye and the usual domelike brow.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • With the sun was associated a supreme power that presided over the universe, benignant and eternal.

  • As she stood there in the doorway, lamp in hand, she looked like a benignant mother waiting to greet a returning child.

    Country Neighbors | Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for benignant

benignant

/ (bɪˈnɪɡnənt) /


adjective
  1. kind; gracious, as a king to his subjects

  2. a less common word for benign (def. 3), benign (def. 4)

Derived forms of benignant

  • benignancy, noun
  • benignantly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012