beneficent
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- beneficently adverb
- nonbeneficent adjective
- nonbeneficently adverb
- unbeneficent adjective
- unbeneficently adverb
Etymology
Origin of beneficent
First recorded in 1610–20; benefic(ence) + -ent
Explanation
Beneficent is the type of act that helps others. If you're a beneficent person, you probably spend a lot of your time volunteering at soup kitchens or homeless shelters, helping people who are less fortunate than you are. Beneficent shares the same root and sentiment with its fellow adjective, benevolent, which also means something that is good. The two words are so closely related that they also share the same Latin origin. Another related word, benefactor, is someone who gives support to an organization or institution or someone who takes care of another person. Kind, generous, and giving are all synonyms of beneficent.
Vocabulary lists containing beneficent
Take the Bad with the Good: Bene and Mal
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Be Nice!
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'Tis The Season: Words For Giving
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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.
At the other end, three nuns from Chicago quietly chatter, favoring passers-by with beneficent smiles.
From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026
Isn’t giving your money away going to have the greatest beneficent impact on the most people?
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 6, 2025
She is not beneficent or seductive; she’s ruthless and mutilated.
From New York Times • Apr. 20, 2023
When Butler’s Prospero refers to Miranda as “a third of mine own life” while bestowing her on Ferdinand, he seems more resentful than beneficent.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2023
“In the name of Allah most beneficent, most merciful,” the old fortune-teller whispers.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Definitions 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.
