Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The quality or condition of being kind and gentle.
  • noun A kindly or gracious act.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state or quality of being benign; goodness of disposition; kindness of nature; graciousness; beneficence.
  • noun Mildness; want of severity.
  • noun A benign or beneficent deed; a kindness.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality of being benign; goodness; kindness; graciousness.
  • noun Mildness; gentleness.
  • noun Salubrity; wholesome quality.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable The state of being benign.
  • noun countable A benign act.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a kind act
  • noun the quality of being kind and gentle

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin benignitās.

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Examples

  • (link) Incidentally, the St. Paul Saints baseball team being a minor league team benefits from the work Mr. Killebrew started with Castor and Pollux, Artemis and Apollo, and a few other sets of Twins, so for them the fuzzy benignity is enough because they have the bigger organization offering them more protection.

    mrissa: Minicon report, with digressions mrissa 2010

  • Althea recalled the benignity of Helen's eyes as they dwelt upon him, her smile, startled, almost touched, when some quaint, telling phrase revealed him suddenly as an unconscious torch-bearer in a dusky, self-deceiving world.

    Franklin Kane Anne Douglas Sedgwick 1904

  • She developed benignity with him, and a kind of benignity which was almost playful — actually before tea was over including in some observation she made him the words 'My dear boy.'

    When would she leave off making mistakes about people? 2007

  • She developed benignity with him, and a kind of benignity which was almost playful — actually before tea was over including in some observation she made him the words 'My dear boy.'

    A Different Stripe: 2007

  • Both these advances of goodness may also be appropriately denominated "benignity," or

    The Works of James Arminius, Vol. 2 1560-1609 1956

  • She developed benignity with him, and a kind of benignity which was almost playful – actually before tea was over including in some observation she made him the words "My dear boy."

    The Enchanted April 1922

  • She developed benignity with him, and a kind of benignity which was almost playful -- actually before tea was over including in some observation she made him the words "My dear boy."

    The Enchanted April Elizabeth von Arnim 1903

  • "benignity" of his expression, and how in him it seemed that "great strength of character and obstinate determination were united with extreme gentleness of disposition and with absolute tenderness towards all about him."

    Abraham Lincoln Godfrey Rathbone Benson Charnwood 1904

  • On her death-bed the fortitude and benignity of this best of women did not desert her.

    Chapter 3 2010

  • On her death-bed the fortitude and benignity of this admirable woman did not desert her.

    Chapter 2 2010

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