1
as in benevolent
having or marked by sympathy and consideration for others
a beneficent couple who are regular volunteers at a homeless shelter
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in charitable
having or showing a concern for the welfare of others
a beneficent effort to help out the needy during the holidays
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in beneficial
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of beneficent
Plus, a lot of social policies that many Californians consider beneficent and broad-minded that, to put it mildly, others around the country consider much less so.
—
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2025
The culmination of Roosevelt’s beneficent framing of the canal’s construction came during the spectacular world’s fair, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, held in 1915 to celebrate the canal’s opening.
—Julie Greene / Made By History, TIME, 22 Jan. 2025
White male Christian authority could posture as gracious and beneficent as long as it was unquestioned.
—Rebecca Solnit
january 13, Literary Hub, 13 Jan. 2021
Both center-left and center-right in the West coalesce around calls for more porous borders, freer trade, and open minds, calling them either inevitable or beneficent, or more often both at once.
—R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018
See All Example Sentences for beneficent
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2025
The culmination of Roosevelt’s beneficent framing of the canal’s construction came during the spectacular world’s fair, the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, held in 1915 to celebrate the canal’s opening.
—Julie Greene / Made By History, TIME, 22 Jan. 2025
White male Christian authority could posture as gracious and beneficent as long as it was unquestioned.
—Rebecca Solnit
january 13, Literary Hub, 13 Jan. 2021
Both center-left and center-right in the West coalesce around calls for more porous borders, freer trade, and open minds, calling them either inevitable or beneficent, or more often both at once.
—R. R. Reno, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2018
See All Example Sentences for beneficent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beneficent
Adjective
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McTeigue created subtle variations on the mask so that V could look slightly more sinister or benevolent depending on the lighting.—
Matthew Huff,
IndieWire,
17 Mar. 2026
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The primary seller gets to look benevolent, having kept prices low for fans.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Companies that give less than that now can't take a charitable deduction for those gifts.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
18 Mar. 2026
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Many monasteries in medieval Europe provided charitable health care to people who needed it most, and the Disibodenberg, where Hildegard lived for thirty‑nine years, was no exception.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Apart from search and rescue, these high-endurance drones could prove beneficial for large-scale environmental monitoring and disaster prevention.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Mar. 2026
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Jared Perlo Ornstein told NBC News that Humans First had been incubated by the Center for AI Safety and had received an initial loan that would be paid back after the group raised donations from individuals who cared about fostering safe and beneficial AI.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Mamdani’s move suggested a new emphasis on compassionate public policy.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
20 Mar. 2026
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Parental leave at full pay for all employees sounds compassionate in the abstract, but the actuarial math is brutal, effectively doubling the cost of teacher absences.—
Lance Christensen,
Oc Register,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In some cases, researchers may have an idea that is not aligned strategically with how the university is raising philanthropic funds.—
Brian Herman,
Fortune,
20 Feb. 2026
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This program would create a voluntary, philanthropic pathway to fund park infrastructure and maintenance without charging people to park.—
Shane Harris,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Moreover, such an action risks preventing favorable conditions for a historic dialogue between the governments of the two countries, which are both united by a desire to disarm Hezbollah and strengthen Lebanon’s state capacities.—
Asher Kaufman,
The Conversation,
20 Mar. 2026
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So, whether you're drawn to the accessibility of a gold ETF, the tangibility of coins or bars or the tax advantages of a gold IRA, the current dip may offer a more favorable entry point than the market provided just weeks ago.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The bias toward gold producers helped propel the Toronto index to record after record last year, but 2026’s dynamics haven’t been as kind.—
Melissa Shin,
Bloomberg,
19 Mar. 2026
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Bachelor Nation is no stranger to drama but the last twelve months have not been kind to the long-running ABC franchise.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Six players and a support staff member received humanitarian visas to stay in Australia while the rest of the group flew to Malaysia on March 9.—
Asher Notheis,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Mar. 2026
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Meanwhile, Israeli strikes have deepened Lebanon's humanitarian crisis, with about 800 people killed and more than 850,000 displaced.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beneficent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beneficent. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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