Benevolent

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: be=nev=o=lent

CIDE DICTIONARY

Benevolent, a. [L. benevolens, -entis; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + volens, p. pr. of volo I will, I wish. See Bounty, and Voluntary.].

 Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable.  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- Benevolent, Beneficent.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Benevolent, adj.
1 wishing to do good; actively friendly and helpful.
2 charitable (benevolent fund; benevolent society).

Derivative

benevolence n. benevolently adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF benivolent f. L bene volens -entis well wishing f. velle wish

THESAURUS

Benevolent

accommodating, advantageous, affable, agreeable, almsgiving, altruistic, amiable, amicable, auspicious, beneficent, beneficial, benign, benignant, big, bighearted, bon, bonny, braw, bueno, capital, caring, charitable, chivalrous, cogent, commendable, compassionate, complaisant, compliant, conciliatory, considerate, cooperative, decent, eleemosynary, elegant, estimable, excellent, expedient, fair, famous, favorable, fine, forbearing, forgiving, freehearted, friendly, generous, good, goodly, gracious, grand, greathearted, healthy, helpful, humane, humanitarian, indulgent, kind, kindly, kindly-disposed, largehearted, laudable, liberal, lofty, long-suffering, longanimous, magnanimous, neighborly, nice, noble, obliging, open-handed, openhanded, overindulgent, overpermissive, patient, permissive, philanthropic, placable, pleasant, profitable, propitious, public-spirited, regal, royal, salutary, skillful, sound, sparing, splendid, sympathetic, tenderhearted, thoughtful, tolerant, unresentful, unrevengeful, useful, valid, very good, virtuous, warm-hearted, welfare, welfare statist, welfarist, well-affected, well-disposed, well-intentioned, well-meaning, well-meant

ROGET THESAURUS

Benevolent

Benevolence

N benevolence, Christian charity, God's love, God's grace, good will, philanthropy, unselfishness, good nature, good feeling, good wishes, kindness, kindliness, loving-kindness, benignity, brotherly love, charity, humanity, fellow-feeling, sympathy, goodness of heart, warmth of heart, bonhomie, kind-heartedness, amiability, milk of human kindness, tenderness, love, friendship, toleration, consideration, generosity, mercy, charitableness, bounty, almsgiving, good works, beneficence, the luxury of doing good, acts of kindness, a good turn, good offices, kind offices good treatment, kind treatment, good Samaritan, sympathizer, bon enfant, altruist, benevolent, kind, kindly, well-meaning, amiable, obliging, accommodating, indulgent, gracious, complacent, good-humored, warm-hearted, kind-hearted, tender-hearted, large-hearted, broad- hearted, merciful, charitable, beneficent, humane, benignant, bounteous, bountiful, good-natured, well-natured, spleenless, sympathizing, sympathetic, complaisant, well-meant, well-intentioned, fatherly, motherly, brotherly, sisterly, paternal, maternal, fraternal, sororal, friendly, with a good intention, with the best intentions, Int, Godspeed!, much good may it do!, act a charity sometimes, a tender heart, a will inflexible, de mortuis nil nisi bonum, say only good things about the dead, don't speak ill of the dead, kind words are more than coronets, quando amigo pide no hay manana, the social smile, the sympathetic tear.