philanthropist
Americannoun
-
philanthropists
plural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of philanthropist
First recorded in 1720–30; philanthrop(y) + -ist
Explanation
A philanthropist is a person who gives money or gifts to charities, or helps needy people in other ways. Famous examples include Andrew Carnegie and Bill & Melinda Gates. In English, the -ist suffix describes a person who does a particular action. A philanthropist practices philanthropy. Philanthropists are wealthy people with a generous nature and a concern for human welfare. Philanthropy is from Late Latin philanthrōpia, from Greek, from philanthrōpos "humane, kind," from the prefix phil- plus anthrōpos "man, mankind."
Vocabulary lists containing philanthropist
All You Need is Love: Amor and Phil
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Giving Words
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We the People: Anthrop
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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.
See Examples For:
Quinn Delaney, a major Democratic donor and fundraiser for former President Obama, and Patty Quillin, a major philanthropist and wife of Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, both have given $1.5 million.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Other patrons include Caitlin Kalinowski, a former robotics executive at OpenAI who recently moved to Anthropic; agriculture executive and philanthropist Taylor Kirkpatrick; and Claire Spaht, the wife of private equity billionaire Holden Spaht.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Fans flocked to her home state of Tennessee to pay homage to the musician, philanthropist and entrepreneur, as President Donald Trump ordered flags on government buildings be flown at half-staff.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Originally from the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Parton was a country music icon, philanthropist and businesswoman whose most famous songs included Coat of Many Colors, Jolene and I Will Always Love You.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
“There was another person, a woman, Mrs.—you know. The artsy- craftsy philanthropist who lives practically next door to you on Camino de los Arbolitos.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Whether the goal is to make the best better or to beat them, philanthropists who want to improve higher education should follow Mr Griffin’s lead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Parton was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2022, which honoured her as "one of the entertainment world's most generous philanthropists".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
In retirement, "Boss Zhu" published a number of books of speeches on economic reform, and was listed as one of the country's top philanthropists.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
For example, philanthropists are allowed to donate stock directly to accounts, the Treasury Department announced last week.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
“Here one was sure to meet scholars, philosophers, philanthropists, judges, bishops, clergymen, and statesmen,” Elizabeth wrote.
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
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.
