Words / C1

b-uh-NEV-uh-l-uh-nt/bəˈnevələnt/

Benevolent means kind and wanting to help others: a benevolent donor, a benevolent smile. Kind is everyday; generous stresses giving; charitable can mean of a charity or merely “generous in interpretation.” Benevolence is the noun. In speech, kind or well-meaning is enough. The word can sound slightly Victorian; in criticism, a benevolent dictator is still a dictator — kindness does not cancel control.

Meaning

Kind and wanting to help others.

Examples

• “A benevolent donor paid for the books.”
• “A benevolent alumni fund paid for the language assistants.”
• “His tone was benevolent, which made the refusal harder to challenge.”

Good to know

Kindly generous. Noun: benevolence. Everyday: kind / well-meaning. Close: generous. Can still describe unequal power.

Near in meaning

kind

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