bounteous
Americanadjective
-
giving or disposed to give freely; generous; liberal.
- Synonyms:
- openhanded, munificent, lavish, free-handed, free
adjective
-
giving freely; generous
the bounteous goodness of God
-
plentiful; abundant
Other Word Forms
- bounteously adverb
- bounteousness noun
- overbounteous adjective
- overbounteously adverb
- overbounteousness noun
- unbounteous adjective
- unbounteously adverb
- unbounteousness noun
Etymology
Origin of bounteous
First recorded in 1325–75; late Middle English bo(u)ntevous, from Old French bontieus, bontive (equivalent to bonte “goodness” + -ive, feminine of adjective ending -if ) + -ous adjective suffix, influenced by bounty; see also -ive, -ous
Explanation
Things that are bounteous are plentiful and generously given. Your friends might celebrate your birthday by bringing you a bounteous armful of flowers. Farmers planting their crops in the spring hope for a bounteous harvest in the summer, and the very best elementary school teachers have bounteous amounts of affection for children. Bounteous things are found in great abundance. The word's original, fourteenth century meaning was "full of goodness," from the noun bounty, or "generosity." The Latin root is bonitatem, or "goodness."
Vocabulary lists containing bounteous
Twelfth Night
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The Tempest
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A Room of One's Own
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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.
Her concerts were "an electrifying experience," wrote the New York Times in 1933, "something nature has produced in one of her most bounteous moods".
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
I was sitting in the Hummer parked on the lot, racing through its bounteous features.
From Slate • Jun. 22, 2025
In any case, depending on what type of information consumer you are, these trivia boxes coupled with the announcers’ “did you know” offerings were either a bounteous accessory or an overload.
From Salon • Jan. 6, 2025
Bethany: Moira, you could not have possibly missed the bounteous Pepsi product placement in the movie.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 2, 2024
Others would say “Are you from Jamaica?” as though only foreign blood could explain such bounteous hair that did not thin at the temples.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
