Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

beneficent

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of beneficent

1 having or marked by sympathy and consideration for others

  • a beneficent couple who are regular volunteers at a homeless shelter
Synonyms of beneficent

benevolent, benignant, compassionate, good-hearted, humane, kind, kindhearted, kindly, softhearted, sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, warmhearted
Words Related to beneficent

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 of beneficent

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
Antonyms of beneficent

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

2 having or showing a concern for the welfare of others

  • a beneficent effort to help out the needy during the holidays
Synonyms of beneficent

altruistic, benevolent, charitable, do-good, eleemosynary, good, humanitarian, philanthropic (also philanthropical)
Words Related to beneficent

selfless, self-sacrificing

bighearted, bounteous, bountiful, free, freehanded, generous, greathearted, handsome, liberal, magnanimous, munificent, openhanded, openhearted, unselfish, unsparing

compassionate, humane, kind, kindhearted

social-minded
Near Antonyms of beneficent

self-indulgent, self-seeking

cheap, closefisted, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, stingy, tight, tightfisted

hard-hearted, pitiless, unfeeling

self-obsessed
Antonyms of beneficent

self-centered, self-concerned, selfish

3 promoting or contributing to personal or social well-being

  • cultural activities have a beneficent effect on a community that can't be measured in dollars and cents
Synonyms of beneficent

advantageous, benefic, beneficial, benignant, favorable, friendly, good, helpful, kindly, profitable, salutary
Words Related to beneficent

gratifying, rewarding, satisfying

auspicious, promising, propitious

advisable, desirable, healthful, healthy, salubrious, salutiferous, wholesome

gainful, lucrative, remunerative

ameliorative, amelioratory, bettering, constructive, supportive
Near Antonyms of beneficent

damaging, deleterious, harmful, injurious, insalubrious
Antonyms of beneficent

bad, disadvantageous, unfavorable, unfriendly, unhelpful, unprofitable

Learn More about beneficent

  1. Dictionary: Definition of beneficent Nglish: Translation of beneficent for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of beneficent for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up beneficent? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show comments hide comments

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

panoply

a magnificent or impressive array

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. Spartan Red Cross Warns of Shelter Conditions

  2. hirsute RIP Burt Reynolds

  3. op-ed NYT Publishes Anonymous Piece

  4. collegiality Kavanaugh Mentions Word in Hearing

  5. mistrial Manafort Guilty on 8 Counts

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games