do-gooding

[doo-good-ing]

noun

1. earnestly doing good; focusing on humanitarian causes in a naive and often ineffectual way.

Word History and Origins

Origin of do-gooding¹

First recorded in 1935–40; do ¹ ( def. ) + good ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Retta devotes her life to do-gooding, fighting the everyday killers — “diabetes, obesity ... maternal deaths, alcoholism.”

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Although Miranda is merely an intern at Human Rights Watch, she is thrilled about her new position — she’s finally free from corporate law and instead engaged in actual do-gooding.

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“All these do-gooding New Dealers. They’re making it very difficult to conduct business in my usual fashion.”

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The Sith are the malevolent enemies of the do-gooding Jedi.

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Just as most fairy tales are derived from darker, grimmer backstories, however, bird feeding, also, isn’t entirely innocent do-gooding for our feathered friends.

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