charitable

American  

[char-i-tuh-buhl] / ˈtʃær ɪ tə bəl /

adjective

1. 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

2. kindly or lenient in judging people, acts, etc..

   charitable in his opinions of others.

   Synonyms:

   mild, considerate, broad-minded, merciful, lenient

   Antonyms:

   intolerant, severe

3. relating to or concerned with charity.

   a charitable institution.

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charitable British  

/ ˈtʃærɪtəbəl /

adjective

1. generous in giving to the needy

2. kind or lenient in one's attitude towards others

3. concerned with or involving charity

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Synonym Usage

See generous.

Other Word Forms

• charitableness
  noun
• noncharitableness
  noun
• overcharitableness
  noun
• noncharitable
  adjective
• overcharitable
  adjective
• pseudocharitable
  adjective
• quasi-charitable
  adjective
• charitably
  adverb
• noncharitably
  adverb
• overcharitably
  adverb
• pseudocharitably
  adverb
• quasi-charitably
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of charitable

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old French, equivalent to charit(e) charity + -able -able

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

charitable

Note to seniors: The recent changes to charitable deductions don’t alter qualified charitable distributions, or QCDs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

We married later in life, have no children or close family remaining, and expect that any eventual legacy we leave will be charitable.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

He added it was a "stamp of approval" for the project on the back of "millions generously donated by philanthropists, charitable funds and thousands of members of the public".

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

A wave of American wealth created by artificial intelligence companies could produce some of the largest charitable sums since the era of Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller, raising questions about where the money goes.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

Half sick and in despair, my mother made the rounds of the charitable institutions, seeking help.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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Related Words

• considerate
• forgiving
• gracious
• magnanimous
• thoughtful
• tolerant

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