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:
As a committed philanthropist, she gave away much of her wealth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
American icon Dolly Parton, whose career as a country singer, songwriter, actor, entrepreneur and philanthropist spanned six decades, has died at age 80.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
The much-loved US singer-songwriter, actress and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who has died aged 80, was known as the Queen of Country.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The family did not give a cause of death, but the singer-songwriter -- also an actress, philanthropist and powerful businesswoman -- had spoken about her recent ill health.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
From a little distance he had the bland aspect of a philanthropist.
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
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
His plan would leave that role to corporations and private philanthropists instead.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
For example, philanthropists are allowed to donate stock directly to accounts, the Treasury Department announced last week.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
The “working poor,” as they are approvingly termed, are in fact the major philanthropists of our society.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
