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Synonyms

donee

American  
[doh-nee] / doʊˈni /

noun

Law.
  1. a person to whom a gift is made.

  2. a person who has a power of appointment in property.


donee British  
/ dəʊˈniː /

noun

  1. a person who receives a gift

  2. a person to whom a power of appointment is given

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of donee

First recorded in 1515–25; don(or) + -ee

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.

See Examples For:

Electoral Commission rules say any member of a registered political party could be a "regulated donee" and therefore subject to its rules about declarations.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

Butler’s emails to Leo are relentlessly obsequious, an unsurprising dynamic between a donor and donee.

From Slate ● May 2, 2018

If the donor is too mean, the donee is happy to punish him by rejecting the ideal outright.

From Economist ● Jul. 20, 2012

A related example involves giving $100 to a participant and asking him to share it with another member of the group; the catch being that, if the donee rejects the deal, neither person gets anything.

From Economist ● Jul. 20, 2012

Heres, as Beseler /1/ and others have remarked, from meaning a successor to the property of a person deceased, was extended to the donee mortis causa, and even more broadly to grantees in general.

From The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes

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