Sunday, May 10, 2015

What does "benevolent" mean in the sentence "The old man was benevolent with his fortune?"

The word "benevolent" means something like "kind" or
"generous."  A person who is benevolent is one who acts out of a desire to help others
rather than simply acting for his or her own gain.


In the
sentence that you give us, this definition works well.  If the old man was benevolent
with his fortune, it means that he used it to help other people.  Perhaps he donated it
to charity or perhaps he set up a foundation to give scholarships to worthy students. 
At any rate, he used his fortune in generous ways, not selfish
ways.


"Benevolent" means kind, generous and
unselfish.

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