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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Related Words

See generous.

Other Word Forms

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

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."

Example Sentences

Meghan, together with Prince Harry, are currently on the second day of a four-day tour of Australia, which will see them combine visits to charitable causes alongside money-making events.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

"People are going hungry," Maria Torres, one of the center's cooks, told AFP, adding she was convinced Maradona would be very happy at the sight of his old home being used for a charitable cause.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

The Internal Revenue Service allows the donor to write off a donation to a charitable organization — in this case, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

The charitable interpretation of Ms. Cheng’s visit is that her party thinks Taiwan’s best bet is to soothe Mr. Xi and push off a crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Many of these people died, Carey pointed out, “without a human being to hand them a drink of water, to administer medicines, or to perform any charitable office for them.”

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Related Words

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