benevolent
/bəˈnɛvələnt/
benevolent adjective: having a disposition to do good.
Adjective
benevolent (comparative more benevolent, superlative most benevolent)
- Having a disposition to do good.
- Chinese and Eastern mythologies describe dragons as benevolent.
- Benevolence? vvhich ſhall I be benevolent to; or vvhich firſt? I am puſſell'd in the choice.1641 or 1642 (first performance), Richard Brome, A Joviall Crew: Or, The Merry Beggars. Presented in a Comedie, […], London: […] J[ames] Y[oung] for E[dward] D[od] and N[athaniel] E[kins] […]...
- Possessing or manifesting love for mankind.
- Altruistic, charitable, good, just and fair.
- This bill was not a gift from a benevolent legislature; it was a victory for the community which worked for its passage.1989 December 24, Kevin M. Cathcart, “Homophobia Never Innocent”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 24, page 5
benevolent meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Malayalam
benevolent in Hindi
- benevolent
- हितार्थ hitārth
- benevolent, kind
- भला bhalā
benevolent in Tamil
- ஈகைக் குணமுள்ள, கருணையுள்ள, தயாள, தருமம் செய்யும்
benevolent in Urdu
- benevolent, generous
- سمن suman
benevolent in Malayalam
- having a disposition to do good
- പരോപകാരി parōpakāri
- altruistic or charitable
- പരോപകാരി parōpakāri
More languagesFewer languages
- benevolent in Kannada
- ಒಳ್ಳೆದು ಮಾಡುವ, ದಯೆಯುಳ್ಳ, ಕೃಪೆಯುಳ್ಳ, ಅನುಗ್ರಹಪೂರ್ವಕ
- benevolent in Sanskrit
- मैत्रेय maitreya
- benevolent in Arabic
- خَيِّر ḵayyir
- benevolent in Persian
- نیککامه nikkâme, خیرخواه xeyrxâh
- benevolent in Thai
- หวังดี wǎng-dii
Examples of benevolent in a sentence
- Like the appeals to sympathy and generosity, the appeal to civic-mindedness attempts to capitalize on benevolent feelings.
- But it's this: how can a benevolent being let such bad things happen?
- Behavior is aware that this might sound mean, but it is actually benevolent.
Antonyms of benevolent
Forms of benevolent
| comparative | more benevolent |
|---|---|
| superlative | most benevolent |
Origin of benevolent
From Old French benevolent, borrowed from Latin benevolēns ("benevolent"). Displaced native Old English welwillende (literally well-wishing).
Words formed from benevolent
Phrases with benevolent
Questions about benevolent
- What does benevolent mean?
- Benevolent means having a disposition to do good.
- What is benevolent in Hindi?
- Benevolent in Hindi is हितार्थ (hitārth), भला (bhalā). See Benevolent meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is benevolent?
- Benevolent is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce benevolent?
- Benevolent is pronounced /bəˈnɛvələnt/.
Words near benevolent in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: benevolent (page history and authors); भला (Hindi) (page history and authors); benevolent (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); سمن (Urdu) (page history and authors); benevolent (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-benevolent.ogg.
Cite this entry: “benevolent.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/benevolent. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.