benignly
Americanadverb
-
in a kind, gracious, or gentle manner.
Kit smiled benignly and told them to wait and see.
I reacted far too forcefully to a very benignly stated criticism, but that was because I was frustrated.
-
in a positive, favorable, or auspicious way.
The trail begins benignly enough, but gains elevation unevenly, with surprisingly steep sections throughout.
Laws once thought to operate benignly in women's favor have in time come to be seen as instead impeding their opportunity to participate in and contribute to society.
-
Pathology. in a way that is not malignant.
This procedure is most commonly performed in men with benignly enlarged prostate glands.
Candida, an opportunistic fungal pathogen, for the most part lives benignly on our skin and mucous membranes.
Other Word Forms
- superbenignly adverb
- unbenignly adverb
Etymology
Origin of benignly
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.
Not unlike the genre of naughty village quirk that gave us “Calendar Girls,” “Wicked Little Letters” is benignly enjoyable in its take on a true story of hidden feelings, farcical expression and righteous action.
From Los Angeles Times
When E. coli fail to attach and colonize the gut, the pathogen benignly moves through and passes out of the body.
From Science Daily
Seeing Aidan through the eyes of people who view him benignly, even lovingly, we feel the danger in each of this monster’s relationships and the ways in which people are blinded to it.
From New York Times
"I feel benignly towards those small discretions or small white lies that we sometimes tell each other."
From Salon
Clad in a Manchester City scarf, he smiled benignly as he watched the fruits of his fortune achieve the ultimate victory.
From BBC
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.
