well-meaning

[wel-mee-ning]

adjective

meaning or intending well; having good intentions: a well-meaning but tactless person.

Also well-meant

[wel-ment] /ˈwɛlˈmɛnt/. proceeding from good intentions: Her well-meaning words were received in silence.

Origin of well-meaning

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for well-meaning

A lot of those people were well-meaning but really, really screwed up.
A Few Great Men Too Many: Aaron Sorkin Doesn’t Think You Can Handle the Truth|Arthur Chu|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All of this makes even the most well-meaning junior soldier more confused and more uptight.
Why These Marines Love ‘Frozen’—and Why It Matters|Aaron B. O’Connell|June 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Exploitation from well-meaning agencies whose mission is to offer help is counterproductive.
Breaking: Grindr-ing Leads to Gonorrhea|Brandy Zadrozny|June 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And yet even for the most well-meaning parent, there are no guarantees.
Why Parents Can Still End Up Lonely|Keli Goff|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The authors of the top 50 list explain how a well-meaning idea got out of control.
Why We’re Not Ranking Rabbis|Gary Ginsberg, Michael Lynton, Abigail Pogrebin|February 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The girl whom he had taken to himself was a well-meaning little thing.
Famous Affinities of History, Vol 1-4, Complete|Lyndon Orr
Friendly, well-meaning, and fumbling hands will stretch out to bind the poet's heart in the maddening pack-thread of Lilliput.
Plum Pudding|Christopher Morley
The services of the Para, who was a well-meaning rascal, were rather singular, and not at all indispensable.
Brownies and Bogles|Louise Imogen Guiney
The well-meaning landlady advised Sarah to go back home and get her parents consent before she married.
Seven Wives and Seven Prisons|L.A. Abbott
But Socrates replied to his well-meaning friend, "Think you I have not spent my whole life in preparing for this one thing?"
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great Philosophers, Volume 8|Elbert Hubbard

British Dictionary definitions for well-meaning

well-meaning

adjective (well meaning when postpositive)

having or indicating good or benevolent intentions, usually with unfortunate results

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

well-meaning

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of well-meaning

Examples from the Web for well-meaning

well-meaning

adjective (well meaning when postpositive)