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Yoong Liat Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary
'beneficent' and 'benevolent'
I've referred to dictionaries and I'm still not clear about the difference between 'beneficent' and 'benevolent'. They seem to be very close in meaning. I am also not clear about the meaning of the nouns 'beneficence' and 'benevolence'.
I would appreciate it very much if a fellow member could illustrate with sentences the difference between this pair of words.
I would appreciate it very much if a fellow member could illustrate with sentences the difference between this pair of words.
Top answer
Hi Yoong Liat I'd say that beneficient and beneficience are more focused to the actions that produce benefits for someone else, and benevolent and benevolence are more focused on character/nature of a person (or thing) that is kind, good or charitable.
- Hi Yoong Liat I'd say that beneficient and beneficience are more focused to the actions that produce benefits for someone else, and benevolent and benevolence are more focused on character/nature of a person (or thing) that is kind, good or charitable.
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3 Answers
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Hi Yoong Liat
I'd say that beneficient and beneficience are more focused to the actions that produce benefits for someone else, and benevolent and benevolence are more focused on character/nature of a person (or thing) that is kind, good or charitable.
I'd say that beneficient and beneficience are more focused to the actions that produce benefits for someone else, and benevolent and benevolence are more focused on character/nature of a person (or thing) that is kind, good or charitable.
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Hi Yoong Liat,
If you have a dictionary that notes the roots of words, it can sometimes help in cases like these.
Here, the roots are Latin. In both cases, bene = well.
Beneficent - From the Latin facere = to do. Hence, the focus on action.
Benevolent - From the Latin velle = to
If you have a dictionary that notes the roots of words, it can sometimes help in cases like these.
Here, the roots are Latin. In both cases, bene = well.
Beneficent - From the Latin facere = to do. Hence, the focus on action.
Benevolent - From the Latin velle = to
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