Benevolence - Definition And Meaning - Wordnik

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Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An inclination to perform kind, charitable acts.
  • noun A kindly act.
  • noun A gift given out of generosity.
  • noun A compulsory tax or payment exacted by some English sovereigns without the consent of Parliament.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The disposition to do good; the love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness; good will; kindness; charitableness.
  • noun An act of kindness; good done; charity given.
  • noun In England, an arbitrary contribution or tax illegally exacted in the guise of a gratuity to the sovereign, from the time of Edward IV., and forbidden by act of Parliament under William and Mary: sometimes used of similar exactions elsewhere.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The disposition to do good; good will; charitableness; love of mankind, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness.
  • noun An act of kindness; good done; charity given.
  • noun A species of compulsory contribution or tax, which has sometimes been illegally exacted by arbitrary kings of England, and falsely represented as a gratuity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable disposition to do good
  • noun uncountable charitable kindness
  • noun countable an altruistic gift or act

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun disposition to do good
  • noun an inclination to do kind or charitable acts
  • noun an act intending or showing kindness and good will

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Circa 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene ("well, good") + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō ("I wish"), components cognate to English benefit and voluntary, more distantly will (via Proto-Indo-European).

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Examples

  • In its more special meaning it has been supposed [134] to imply not merely the going forth of good towards an object, but the meeting of good in that object, the term benevolence being used to express the love of that which in itself does not contain any love-worthiness.

    Theism: The Witness of Reason and Nature to an All-Wise and Beneficent Creator. 1823-1886 1855

  • Beside the benevolence is a redness in tooth and claw that is sickening and alienating and it is somehow part of a horrible left-hand/right-hand situation.

    Bill Gates and the Greatest Tech Hack Ever - Anil Dash 2008

  • Now this quality, which we call benevolence, has been the subject of commentaries by many teachers; but as these commentaries have been difficult of comprehension, they are too hard to enter the ears of women and children.

    Tales of Old Japan Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Redesdale 1876

  • Well, then, the quality which we call benevolence is, in fact, a perfection; and it is this perfection which Môshi spoke of as the heart of man.

    Tales of Old Japan Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Redesdale 1876

  • The answer is yes, I do believe in benevolence and malevolence as being a part of mans nature, I think where we differ, is the belief in the architect of nature and whether the formation of the natural world including the physique was a guided or a random process.

    Child Abuse Alert 2009

  • Although one would hope that corporate benevolence is at play here it is also quite possible that having the import and export duty categories, and Mexican tax status changed as a result of the sale of an enriched product is a significant motivator here.

    a molcajete, a clay comal, and some cal. 2004

  • He had thick reddish-yellow eyebrows at the base of a slightly receding forehead – wanting in benevolence, phrenologists would have said, and with the bump of self-esteem considerably developed.

    Lady Bridget in the Never-Never Land 1915

  • It is necessary here to point out that whereas he has just placed the names complacency and desire under the generic head, benevolence, he afterwards uses the word benevolence, specifically, instead of desire, as if dividing benevolence into complacency, and benevolence proper.

    Treatise on the Love of God 1567-1622 1884

  • The word benevolence, when applied to the character of the Quakers, includes also a tender feeling towards the brute creation.

    A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 3 Thomas Clarkson 1803

  • The word benevolence, when mentioned as a trait in the character of the

    A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 3 Thomas Clarkson 1803

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synonyms (151)

Words with the same meaning

  1. BOMFOG
  2. Benthamism
  3. Christian charity
  4. Christian love
  5. accommodatingness
  6. act of grace
  7. act of kindness
  8. advantageousness
  9. affability
  10. agape
  11. agreeableness
  12. altruism
  13. amiability
  14. amity
  15. auspiciousness
  16. benefaction
  17. beneficence
  18. beneficialness
  19. benefit
  20. benevolent disposition
  21. benevolentness
  22. benignancy
  23. benignity
  24. bigheartedness
  25. blessing
  26. boon
  27. brightness
  28. brotherly love
  29. caritas
  30. charitableness
  31. charity
  32. cheerfulness
  33. cheeriness
  34. class
  35. clemency
  36. cogency
  37. comity
  38. commiseration
  39. compassion
  40. complaisance
  41. compliance
  42. compliment
  43. condolence
  44. condonation
  45. contribution
  46. courtesy
  47. decency
  48. desert
  49. disregard
  50. do-goodism
  51. donation
  52. excellence
  53. expedience
  54. fairness
  55. favor
  56. favorableness
  57. feeling
  58. fineness
  59. first-rateness
  60. flower power
  61. forbearance
  62. forgiveness
  63. forgivingness
  64. fortunateness
  65. friendliness
  66. friendship
  67. generosity
  68. generousness
  69. gift
  70. giving
  71. good auspices
  72. good deed
  73. good offices
  74. good omen
  75. good turn
  76. goodliness
  77. goodness
  78. goodwill
  79. grace
  80. graciosity
  81. graciousness
  82. grant
  83. greatheartedness
  84. healthiness
  85. helpfulness
  86. humanitarianism
  87. humanity
  88. indulgence
  89. kind deed
  90. kind offices
  91. kindliness
  92. kindly act
  93. kindness
  94. labor of love
  95. largeheartedness
  96. largess
  97. leniency
  98. long-suffering
  99. longanimity
  100. love
  101. love of mankind
  102. luckiness
  103. magnanimity
  104. manna
  105. mercy
  106. merit
  107. mitigation
  108. mitzvah
  109. munificence
  110. niceness
  111. obligation
  112. obligingness
  113. office
  114. overlooking
  115. pardon
  116. pathos
  117. patience
  118. philanthropism
  119. philanthropy
  120. pity
  121. pleasantness
  122. present
  123. profitableness
  124. propitiousness
  125. prosperousness
  126. quality
  127. quarter
  128. relief
  129. reprieve
  130. rewardingness
  131. ruth
  132. self-pity
  133. service
  134. skillfulness
  135. soundness
  136. superiority
  137. sympathy
  138. tolerance
  139. turn
  140. unrevengefulness
  141. unselfishness
  142. usefulness
  143. utilitarianism
  144. validity
  145. value
  146. virtue
  147. virtuousness
  148. welfarism
  149. well-disposedness
  150. wholeness
  151. worth

hypernyms (2)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. benignity
  2. kindness

same context (14)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. candour
  2. charity
  3. friendliness
  4. generosity
  5. goodness
  6. hospitality
  7. kindliness
  8. kindness
  9. liberality
  10. piety
  11. prudence
  12. purity
  13. self-sacrifice
  14. sincerity

forms (1)

Forms

  1. benevolent

cross-references (1)

Cross-references

  1. love of benevolence

rhymes (1)

Words with the same terminal sound

  1. prevalence

Wordmap

(beta)

Word visualization

Comments

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  • brtom commented on the word benevolence

    For a man cannot have publick spirit, who is void of private benevolence. (from Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart)

    December 31, 2007

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