benign

adjective

be·nign bi-ˈnīn

Synonyms of benign next

: of a mild type or character that does not threaten health or life

especially : not becoming cancerous

a benign lung tumor

: having no significant effect : harmless

environmentally benign

: of a gentle disposition : gracious

a benign teacher

: showing kindness and gentleness

benign faces

: favorable, wholesome

a benign climate

benignity

bi-ˈnig-nə-tē

noun

benignly

bi-ˈnīn-lē

adverb

Example Sentences

… substituting such benign power sources as the hybrid, the fuel cell, and the electric motor in place of … the internal-combustion engine. —

Brock Yates, Car and Driver, May 2000

Rather than a benign fairytale creature that delivers babies, the marabou stork is an ugly, viciously predatory African bird that preys on flamingos … —

James Polk, New York Times Book Review, 11 Feb. 1996

… her pulled-back black hair had gone gray in strange distinct bands, but she seemed much as he remembered her, solid and energetic, with a certain benign defiance. —

John Updike, New Yorker, 23 May 1988

When she chose to smile on me, I always wanted to thank her. The action was so graceful and inclusively benign. —

Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969

We were happy to hear that the tumor was benign. around campus he's known as a real character, but one whose eccentricities are entirely benign See More

Recent Examples on the Web Could this be a pheochromocytoma — a usually benign tumor that causes the adrenal glands to produce too much of the fight-or-flight hormones? —

Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 9 Mar. 2023 It's characterized by benign tumors on the brain and elsewhere, damaging nerves that mostly impact hearing and balance. —

Jeff Truesdell, Peoplemag, 22 Feb. 2023 Byrne had an undiagnosed benign tumor of the pituitary gland. —

Lianne Kolirin, CNN, 11 Jan. 2023 By nightfall, he’d been medevaced nearly 1,500 miles to Seattle Children’s Hospital after X-rays located a grapefruit-sized benign tumor growing on the right side of his brain. —

Geoff Baker, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Jan. 2023 The journalist was very open about her experience, as she was diagnosed with a benign tumor, called hemangioma, in 2017, just months after her mother’s cancer diagnoses. —

Emily Longeretta, Variety, 16 Dec. 2022 An osteoid osteoma is a common benign tumor of the bone. —

Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 7 Nov. 2022 Albright had surgery in 2009 to remove an acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor between the inner ear and brain that impairs balance. —

Karen Nitkin, Baltimore Sun, 23 Oct. 2022 In 1998, Leach decided to leave the show to spend more time with her son, who had developed a benign brain tumor that required surgery. —

Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'benign.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.