philanthropic
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of philanthropic
First recorded in 1780–90; philanthrop(y) + -ic
Explanation
Something given to help others is philanthropic. Money, household items, giving your time and energy to a cause — all can be philanthropic contributions. Philanthropic, pronounced "fill-an-THRAW-pick," comes from the Greek word philanthropos "loving mankind, useful to man." Philanthropic organizations work to help people, running their operations by relying on resources donated by people who are able to give. Many charities, museums, universities, cultural centers, and scientific institutions rely on philanthropic support to pay their bills.
Vocabulary lists containing philanthropic
300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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'Tis The Season: Words For Giving
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This Week in Words: September 15 - 21, 2018
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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.
Moody said the philanthropic world would be "looking closely at which causes they support," including whether research funding is limited to AI.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
The repeated assertions at the top of the prospectus that “our co-founders have each pledged to dedicate 80% of their personal equity in Anthropic to philanthropic causes” are effectively meaningless.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
He described a fundraising ambition in the tens of millions of dollars, with conversations underway with philanthropic donors and LA28 partners.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
In the oral history, Draper discussed his philanthropic strategy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
If things got worse in Europe, philanthropic spending would grind to a halt in the United States; even if the war clouds dispelled, millions of dollars would shift to Europe for economic reconstruction.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
