benevolent

adjective

be·​nev·​o·​lent bə-ˈnev--ˈne-və-lənt 

-ˈnev-

1

a

: marked by or disposed to doing good

a benevolent donor

b

: organized for the purpose of doing good

a benevolent society

2

: marked by or suggestive of goodwill

benevolent smiles

benevolently adverb

benevolentness noun

Did you know?

Benevolent Has a Good History

One who is benevolent genuinely wishes other people well, a meaning reflected clearly in the word's Latin roots: benevolent comes from bene, meaning "good," and velle, meaning "to wish." Other descendants of velle in English include volition, which refers to the power to make one's own choices or decisions, and voluntary, as well as the rare velleity, meaning either "the lowest degree of volition" or "a slight wish or tendency." A more familiar velle descendant stands directly opposed to benevolent: malevolent describes someone or something having or showing a desire to cause harm to another person.

Synonyms

• beneficent
• benignant
• compassionate
• good-hearted
• humane
• kind
• kindhearted
• kindly
• softhearted
• sympathetic
• tender
• tenderhearted
• warmhearted

Examples of benevolent in a Sentence

Trees that size are like whales, sort of benevolent in their huge bulk … —Sebastian Junger, This Old House, March/April 1998

Grandfather sometimes turned on us like a rigged trap, and of course the benevolent gaze of the sage became the glare of the patriarch. —Darryl Pinckney, High Cotton, 1992

A Southern writer is allowed his eccentricities. The prevailing attitude is a kind of benevolent neglect. —Walker Percy, "Why I Live Where I Live," 1980, in Signposts in a Strange Land,  1991

They tore out the windows of the club's simple storefront and bricked them over and left two much smaller windows … so that the look of the club changed from that of a benevolent neighborhood organization to that of a paramilitary one. —"The Talk of the Town," New Yorker,  26 Feb. 1990

a gift from a benevolent donor

He belonged to several benevolent societies and charitable organizations.

Recent Examples on the Web

Many people believe that slavery in Latin America was a benevolent institution. —Ana Lucia Araujo / Made By History, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024

In recent years, the naive belief held by most Americans, that the Fed is an apolitical body of benevolent technocrats who would never use their immense, ring-of-Sauron-like power for anything but the good of humanity, has evaporated. —Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

Maya moon goddess Ixchel: a benevolent deity with a dark side Computational astrophysicist and research scientist at Caltech. —Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 14 Oct. 2024

Reflecting the rough class position of Apple’s corporate employees and prime customers, these comedies are situated either in the highest echelons of wealth (see Loot’s benevolent billionaire protag) or settings where the characters are rich enough that material needs never quite come into play. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin benevolent-, benevolens, from bene + volent-, volens, present participle of velle to wish — more at will

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

benevolent

adjective

be·​nev·​o·​lent bə-ˈnev(-ə)-lənt 

: having a desire to do good : kindly, charitable

a benevolent organization

benevolently adverb