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
Related Words
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.
The David E. Simon and Jacqueline S. Simon Charitable Foundation has given to various causes, including higher education, health, arts and culture as well as those that support Judaism.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
Charitable timing before new limits arrive: Starting in 2026, charitable deductions are expected to be limited to amounts exceeding 0.5% of AGI, under current law.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026
The research was carried out by scientists in the UCL Faculties of Life Sciences and Brain Sciences, with support from the Cambridge Trust, Wellcome, and the Masonic Charitable Foundation.
From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2026
Dave Gershman at the Pew Charitable Trusts' international fisheries team used news of the auction to highlight that stocks of Pacific bluefin tuna were improving after being "near collapse".
From Barron's • Jan. 5, 2026
The nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts reports that prison populations in at least ten states are expected to increase by 25 percent or more between 2006 and 2011.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
