charitable
Americanadjective
-
generous in donations or gifts to relieve the needs of indigent, ill, or helpless people, or of animals.
a charitable man giving much money to feed people experiencing food insecurity.
- Synonyms:
- benevolent, bountiful, liberal, beneficent
- Antonyms:
- selfish
-
kindly or lenient in judging people, acts, etc..
charitable in his opinions of others.
- Synonyms:
- mild, considerate, broad-minded, merciful, lenient
- Antonyms:
- intolerant, severe
-
relating to or concerned with charity.
a charitable institution.
adjective
-
generous in giving to the needy
-
kind or lenient in one's attitude towards others
-
concerned with or involving charity
Synonym Usage
See generous.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of charitable
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French, equivalent to charit(e) charity + -able -able
Explanation
Something that's charitable has to do with helping people who need assistance. A charitable act might include volunteering at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. A charitable donation is money you give to an organization that helps needy people — and the organization itself is also charitable. You can also use the word to describe, more generally, someone who's kind and generous, or the quality of giving people the benefit of the doubt: "He always had such a charitable opinions of me." Charitable comes from charity, from the Old French charité, "mercy or compassion."
Vocabulary lists containing charitable
Giving Words
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Positive Words to Describe a Person
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You're Too Kind! Synonyms for "Generous"
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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.
WSJ | Buy Side: The best advisers for high-net-worth individuals often specialize in advanced estate planning, tax strategy and charitable giving to ensure their clients’ complex financial needs are met.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Among the purposes cited in the suit include an attempt “to use more than $275,000 in charitable funds for the for-profit Globes LLC’s Golden Globes viewing party.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
It is involved in a number of investments and charitable work around agriculture and conservation in east Africa, as well as projects in Scotland.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The hospital installations, along with the X-ray machines and lab equipment, will stay in the country as charitable donations, Ovington said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Any adversary who is unscrupulous enough to give the least charitable reading to an unhedged statement will find an opening to attack the writer in a thicket of hedged ones anyway.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
