munificent
adjective
mu·nif·i·cent
myu̇-ˈni-fə-sənt 
1
: very liberal in giving or bestowing (see bestow sense 4) : lavish
munificent donors
2
: characterized by great liberality or generosity
a munificent gift
munificently
adverb
Did you know?
Munificent was formed back in the late 1500s when English speakers, perhaps inspired by similar words such as magnificent, altered the ending of munificence. Munificence in turn comes from munificus, the Latin word for "generous," which itself comes from munus, a Latin noun that is variously translated as "gift," "duty," or "service." Munus has done a fine service to English by giving us other terms related to service or compensation, including municipal and remunerate.
Examples of munificent in a Sentence
a munificent host who has presided over many charitable events at his mansion
Recent Examples on the Web
Swift danced her way through 149 sets in 22 countries and thanked her crew with munificent bonuses totaling $197 million.
—
Bryan West, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2025
The white middle class absconded to the suburbs in droves, seriously depleting a once munificent tax base.
—Evan Kindley, The New Republic, 1 Aug. 2023
Testing these munificent vehicles took us not only to DaimlerChrysler's proving grounds but also to our beloved collection of paved curves, whoop-de-dos, and foot-to-the-floor straightaways in southeastern Ohio's Hocking Hills.
—Don Schroeder, Car and Driver, 3 Jan. 2023
It’s become popular—even knee-jerk—to write off the difficulty businesses face finding workers as people staying at home, probably sitting around in their underwear, enjoying the munificent benefits unemployment brings.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2021
Carla had no plausible explanation as to why Gianni should have been so munificent.
—Cullen Murphy, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2022
But even these munificent gifts were dwarfed by other contributions, often from unknown donors.
—Katherine Stewart, The New Republic, 11 July 2022
More significantly, Rolling Stone wrote a critical piece about country singer Morgan Wallen, reminiscent of Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold’s Pulitzer-winning investigations of Donald Trump’s claims of his munificent charitable donations.
—Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2021
Like many startups, print-on-demand companies tend to coat themselves in munificent techno-marketing clichés.
—Roger Sollenberger, Wired, 16 Mar. 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Bryan West, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2025
The white middle class absconded to the suburbs in droves, seriously depleting a once munificent tax base.
—Evan Kindley, The New Republic, 1 Aug. 2023
Testing these munificent vehicles took us not only to DaimlerChrysler's proving grounds but also to our beloved collection of paved curves, whoop-de-dos, and foot-to-the-floor straightaways in southeastern Ohio's Hocking Hills.
—Don Schroeder, Car and Driver, 3 Jan. 2023
It’s become popular—even knee-jerk—to write off the difficulty businesses face finding workers as people staying at home, probably sitting around in their underwear, enjoying the munificent benefits unemployment brings.
—Erik Sherman, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2021
Carla had no plausible explanation as to why Gianni should have been so munificent.
—Cullen Murphy, The Atlantic, 7 Nov. 2022
But even these munificent gifts were dwarfed by other contributions, often from unknown donors.
—Katherine Stewart, The New Republic, 11 July 2022
More significantly, Rolling Stone wrote a critical piece about country singer Morgan Wallen, reminiscent of Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold’s Pulitzer-winning investigations of Donald Trump’s claims of his munificent charitable donations.
—Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2021
Like many startups, print-on-demand companies tend to coat themselves in munificent techno-marketing clichés.
—Roger Sollenberger, Wired, 16 Mar. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Munificent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/munificent. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
munificent
adjective
mu·nif·i·cent
myu̇-ˈnif-ə-sənt
1
: very generous in giving
a munificent host
2
: given generously or in plenty
a munificent gift
munificently
adverb
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