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Definition
kind, generous, or charitable- They called themselves The Benevolent Association because their mission was to help others.
benevolent = kind, generous, or charitable
- He thought of himself as a benevolent dictator.
- a benevolent contributor
- The Rotary Club is one of the largest benevolent organizations in the world.
- He was a benevolent, but misguided dictator.
- While, in theory, the state could be benevolent and act in the best interest of the workers, in practice, the state acts in the best interests of those in power.Raghuram G. Rajan & Luigi Zingales -- Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists
- Ordinary life virtues emphasize benevolence and solidarity.Faith and Reason - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy -- http://www.iep.utm.edu/f/faith-re.htm (retrieved 05/20/06)
- In brief, it seeks to establish that the existence of evil in the world is logically incompatible with the existence of a benevolent God, and that it is more reasonable to conclude that God does not exist than that he does exist but does nothing to stop evil.Atheism - Wikipedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist (retrieved 05/20/06)
- Finally, my benevolent master, to use his own words, "set her adrift to take care of herself."Douglass, Frederick -- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass An American Slave
- ...political idealists for many centuries had implicitly used models of the state that involve presumptive benevolence and omniscience.James M. Buchanan -- Notes on the Liberal Constitution -- http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj14n1-1.html (retrieved 06/28/06)
- While most contemporary Hindus do not actually worship the cow (though many venerate her), it still holds an honored place in Hindu society as the best representative of the benevolence of all animals on man.Hinduism - Wikipedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism (retrieved 05/20/06)
- But consequences, or rather events, also feed back on ideas, and, after the unpredicted revolutions of 1989-91, the romantic image of the benevolent and capable state must prove increasingly difficult to sustain.James M. Buchanan -- Notes on the Liberal Constitution -- http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj14n1-1.html (retrieved 06/28/06)
- Because of the vital role of religious and fraternal benevolent societies in fostering charity and patriotism, they should not be subject to taxation.2004 Republican Party Platform -- http://www.gop.com/media/2004platform.pdf (retrieved 06/28/06)
- It has been said that a benevolent despotism is the best possible form of government.Shaw, George Bernard -- An Unsocial Socialist
- The conqueror is regarded with awe; the wise man commands our respect; but it is only the benevolent man that wins our affection.William Dean Howells
- It was right to do it, it was kind to do it, it was benevolent to do it, and he would do it again.Dickens, Charles -- Great Expectations
- The benevolent despot who sees himself as a shepherd of the people still demands from others the submissiveness of sheep.Eric Hoffer
- She was a benevolent, charitable, good womanJane Austen -- Persuasion
- ...to a benevolent human mind there can be no spectacle presented by any nation more pleasing, more noble, majestic, or august, than ... a Government in which the Executive authority, as well as that of all the branches of the Legislature, are exercised by citizens selected at regular periods by their neighbors to make and execute laws for the general good.John Adams (2nd President) -- 1797 Inaugural Address
- She looks with agony in the face of the man who has bought her,—a respectable middle-aged man, of benevolent countenance.Stowe, Harriet Beecher -- Uncle Tom's Cabin
benevolent = kind, generous, or charitable