Dictionary.com

beneficial

[ ben-uh-fish-uhl ]
/ ˌbɛn əˈfɪʃ əl /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: beneficial / beneficially on Thesaurus.com
adjective
conferring benefit; advantageous; helpful: the beneficial effect of sunshine.
Law.
  1. helpful in the meeting of needs: a beneficial association.
  2. involving the personal enjoyment of proceeds: a beneficial owner.
QUIZ
ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ
There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!
Question 1 of 7
True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.
true
false
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of beneficial

1425–75; late Middle English <Late Latin beneficiālis, equivalent to Latin benefici(um) kindness (see benefice) + -ālis-al1

OTHER WORDS FROM beneficial

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH beneficial

beneficent, beneficial , benevolent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to beneficial

benign, constructive, favorable, good, helpful, profitable, useful, valuable, favoring, gainful, healthful, propitious, salubrious, salutary, serviceable, toward, wholesome, worthy

How to use beneficial in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for beneficial

beneficial
/ (ˌbɛnɪˈfɪʃəl) /
adjective
(sometimes foll by to) causing a good result; advantageous
law entitling a person to receive the profits or proceeds of propertya beneficial interest in land

Derived forms of beneficial

beneficially, adverb

Word Origin for beneficial

C15: from Late Latin beneficiālis, from Latin beneficium kindness
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
FEEDBACK