Word of the Day

: June 11, 2012

benevolent

adjective buh-NEV-uh-lunt

What It Means

1 a : marked by or disposed to doing good

b : organized for the purpose of doing good

2 : marked by or suggestive of goodwill

benevolent in Context

Jody's grandmother was a benevolent lady who enjoyed performing random acts of kindness for both her family and strangers.

"This benevolent festival supports the nonprofit Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which was founded by the folk singer Pete Seeger and aims to clean up the waterway." - From an write-up by Stacey Anderson in The New York Times, May 20, 2012

Did You Know?

Someone who is "benevolent" genuinely wishes other people well, which is not surprising if you know the word's history. "Benevolent" can be traced back to Latin "bene," meaning "good," and "velle," meaning "to wish." Other descendants of "velle" in English include "volition" ("the act or power of making one's choices or decisions"), "voluntary," and the rare word "velleity" (meaning either "the lowest degree of volition" or "a slight wish or tendency"). There is also one more familiar "velle" descendant - "malevolent," the antonym of "benevolent," a word describing one who is disposed to doing ill instead of good.