philanthropy

phi·lan·thro·py

noun \fə-ˈlan(t)-thrə-pē\

plural phi·lan·thro·pies

Definition of PHILANTHROPY

1

: goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially : active effort to promote human welfare

2

a : an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes b : an organization distributing or supported by funds set aside for humanitarian purposes

Examples of PHILANTHROPY

1. The family's philanthropy made it possible to build the public library.
2. <among the industrialist's philanthropies was a college scholarship fund for deserving students from the inner city>
3. For many years, Microsoft has used corporate philanthropy to bring technology to people who can't get it otherwise, donating more than $3 billion in cash and software to try to bridge the digital divide. —Bill Gates, Time, 11 Aug. 2008
4. Cooper, born in New York City in 1791, was himself an inventor and a hands-on industrialist, whose fortune got its start in the glue business, greatly expanded in the iron industry, eventually included more than half the telegraph lines in the United States, and was significantly invested in philanthropy and the cause of public education. —John Updike, New York Review of Books, 10 Aug. 2006
5. In conditions of anarchy, a crude and violent order, based upon brute force and psychopathic ruthlessness, soon establishes itself, which regards philanthropy not as a friend but as an enemy and a threat. —Theodore Dalrymple, National Review, 26 Sept. 2005

Origin of PHILANTHROPY

Late Latin philanthropia, from Greek philanthrōpia, from philanthrōpos loving people, from phil- + anthrōpos human being

First Known Use: circa 1623

Related to PHILANTHROPY

Synonyms: alms, benefaction, beneficence, charity, donation, contribution

Antonyms: cheapness, closeness, meanness, miserliness, parsimony, penuriousness, pinching, selfishness, stinginess, tightness, ungenerosity

Related Words: offering, tithe; bequest, endowment, legacy; aid, assistance, dole, handout, relief, welfare; grant, subsidy; benevolence, bestowal, largesse (also largess), present, presentation

Near Antonyms: conserving, economizing, economy, frugality, husbandry, providence, scrimping, skimping, thrift; conservation, saving; husbanding, managing; scraping; cutting back

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