benignant

be·nig·nant

adj \-nənt\

Definition of BENIGNANT

1

: serenely mild and kindly : benign

2

: favorable, beneficial <a benignant power>

— be·nig·nant·ly adverb

Examples of BENIGNANT

1. <a benignant understanding of the daily struggles of the economically disadvantaged>
2. <firmly believes that religion is a benignant force in society>

Origin of BENIGNANT

benign + -ant (as in malignant)

First Known Use: circa 1782

Related to BENIGNANT

Synonyms: beneficent, benevolent, humane, compassionate, good-hearted, kind, kindhearted, kindly, softhearted, sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, warmhearted

Antonyms: atrocious, barbaric, barbarous, bestial, brutal, brute, brutish, callous, cold-blooded, cruel, fiendish, hard-hearted, heartless, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, sadistic, savage, truculent, uncompassionate, unfeeling, unkind, unkindly, unsympathetic, vicious, wanton

Related Words: attentive, considerate, solicitous, thoughtful; affable, amicable, benign, companionable, comradely, cordial, friendly, genial, gentle, good, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, mild, neighborly, nice, pleasant, sweet, warm; clement, forbearing, forgiving, lenient, merciful, soft; patient, pitying, tolerant, understanding; altruistic, brotherly, charitable, freehanded, generous, greathearted, humanitarian, liberal, magnanimous, munificent, noble, openhearted, philanthropic (also philanthropical), selfless, unselfish, unsparing; anticruelty, cruelty-free

Near Antonyms: ironhearted, merciless, pitiless, ruthless, stonyhearted; inconsiderate, insensitive, thoughtless, uncaring, unthinking; grim, hard-boiled, harsh, heavy-handed, severe, stern, tough, unsentimental; hateful, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, mean, nasty, spiteful, virulent; antihumanitarian, uncharitable

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Rhymes with BENIGNANT

indignant, malignant