benevolence
English · Thesaurus
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benevolence
- /bəˈnɛvələns/
Where it comes from
Circa 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene (“well, good”) + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō (“to wish”), components cognate to English benefit and voluntary, more distantly will (via Proto-Indo-European).
noun benevolences
- Disposition to do good. gesture of benevolence
- Charitable kindness. His acts of benevolence earned him great respect.
- An altruistic gift or act.
- A kind of forced loan or contribution levied by kings without legal authority, first so called under Edward IV in 1473.
Opposite: malevolence
Thesaurus
noun
Opposite: malevolence
Translations
Every language
noun disposition to do good
| Español | benevolencia |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 仁 jin, 慈悲 jihi |
| 中文 | 仁慈 réncí, 仁 rén, 慈悲 cíbēi |
| हिन्दी | हितैषिता hitaiṣitā, हितेच्छा hitecchā |
| Português | benevolência |
| Français | bienveillance, bénévolence |
| Deutsch | Gutmütigkeit, Mildherzigkeit |
| Ελληνικά | καλοσύνη kalosýni |
| Română | bunăvoință |
| Русский | благожела́тельность blagoželátelʹnostʹ, доброжела́тельность dobroželátelʹnostʹ, доброта́ dobrotá, ми́лость mílostʹ |
| العربية | النزعَة إلى الخير |
noun charitable kindness
| Ελληνικά | αγαθοεργία agathoergía |
|---|
Talk about this word "benevolence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/benevolence. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. benevolence. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/benevolence "benevolence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/benevolence.Cite this
@misc{benevolence_2026,
title = {benevolence},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/benevolence},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
