Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

benevolence

/bəˈnɛvələns/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.78 in modern English

Syllables
benev-o-lence
IPA
/bəˈnɛvələns/
18
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Disposition to do good.

Uncountable

noun

Charitable kindness.

Uncountable

noun

An altruistic gift or act.

Countable

noun

A kind of forced loan or contribution levied by kings without legal authority, first so called under Edward IV in 1473.

British usage; Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Circa 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene (“well, good”) + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō (“to wish”), components cognate to English benefit and voluntary, more distantly will (via Proto-Indo-European).

Word Breakdown

Usage

Inflected Forms

benevolences (plural)

Derived Forms

omnibenevolence unbenevolence

Synonyms

benefaction

Antonyms

malevolence

Rhymes With

prevalence

Questions

How do you pronounce benevolence?
The recorded pronunciation is /bəˈnɛvələns/.
What does benevolence mean?
Disposition to do good.
Where does benevolence come from?
Circa 1400, original sense “good will, disposition to do good”, Old French benivolence from Latin benevolentia (also directly from Latin), literally “good will”, from bene (“well, good”) + volentia, form of volēns, form of volō (“to wish”), components cognate to English benefit and voluntary, more distantly will (via Proto-Indo-European).

How to pronounce benevolence

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “benevolence”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/bəˈnɛvələns/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “benevolence”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “benevolence” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.