Search Result for "benevolent": 
Wordnet 3.0

ADJECTIVE (4)

1. intending or showing kindness;
- Example: "a benevolent society"

2. showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity;
- Example: "was charitable in his opinions of others"
- Example: "kindly criticism"
- Example: "a kindly act"
- Example: "sympathetic words"
- Example: "a large-hearted mentor"
[syn: charitable, benevolent, kindly, sympathetic, good-hearted, openhearted, large-hearted]

3. generous in providing aid to others;
[syn: benevolent, freehearted]

4. generous in assistance to the poor;
- Example: "a benevolent contributor"
- Example: "eleemosynary relief"
- Example: "philanthropic contributions"
[syn: beneficent, benevolent, eleemosynary, philanthropic]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Benevolent \Be*nev"o*lent\, a. [L. benevolens, -entis; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + volens, p. pr. of volo I will, I wish. See Bounty, and Voluntary.] Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable. -- Be*nev"o*lent*ly, adv. [1913 Webster] Syn: Benevolent, Beneficent. Usage: Etymologically considered, benevolent implies wishing well to others, and beneficent, doing well. But by degrees the word benevolent has been widened to include not only feelings, but actions; thus, we speak of benevolent operations, benevolent labors for the public good, benevolent societies. In like manner, beneficent is now often applied to feelings; thus, we speak of the beneficent intentions of a donor. This extension of the terms enables us to mark nicer shades of meaning. Thus, the phrase "benevolent labors" turns attention to the source of these labors, viz., benevolent feeling; while beneficent would simply mark them as productive of good. So, "beneficent intentions" point to the feelings of the donor as bent upon some specific good act; while "benevolent intentions" would only denote a general wish and design to do good. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

benevolent adj 1: intending or showing kindness; "a benevolent society" 2: showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding and generosity; "was charitable in his opinions of others"; "kindly criticism"; "a kindly act"; "sympathetic words"; "a large-hearted mentor" [syn: charitable, benevolent, kindly, sympathetic, good-hearted, openhearted, large-hearted] 3: generous in providing aid to others [syn: benevolent, freehearted] 4: generous in assistance to the poor; "a benevolent contributor"; "eleemosynary relief"; "philanthropic contributions" [syn: beneficent, benevolent, eleemosynary, philanthropic]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

108 Moby Thesaurus words for "benevolent": accommodating, advantageous, affable, agreeable, almsgiving, altruistic, amiable, amicable, auspicious, beneficent, beneficial, benign, benignant, big, bighearted, bon, bonny, braw, bueno, capital, caring, charitable, chivalrous, cogent, commendable, compassionate, complaisant, compliant, conciliatory, considerate, cooperative, decent, eleemosynary, elegant, estimable, excellent, expedient, fair, famous, favorable, fine, forbearing, forgiving, freehearted, friendly, generous, good, goodly, gracious, grand, greathearted, healthy, helpful, humane, humanitarian, indulgent, kind, kindly, kindly-disposed, largehearted, laudable, liberal, lofty, long-suffering, longanimous, magnanimous, neighborly, nice, noble, obliging, open-handed, openhanded, overindulgent, overpermissive, patient, permissive, philanthropic, placable, pleasant, profitable, propitious, public-spirited, regal, royal, salutary, skillful, sound, sparing, splendid, sympathetic, tenderhearted, thoughtful, tolerant, unresentful, unrevengeful, useful, valid, very good, virtuous, warm-hearted, welfare, welfare statist, welfarist, well-affected, well-disposed, well-intentioned, well-meaning, well-meant