philanthropist
noun
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The Greek root of philanthropy may be literally translated as "loving people." The English word can refer to general goodwill to one's fellow people, as well as to the active effort to promote the welfare of people, but in modern use it is most often used to refer specifically to the practice of giving money and time to help make life better for others. A person who practices philanthropy is called a philanthropist; the term philanthrope was formerly used with the same meaning, but it is now considered archaic.
Examples of philanthropist in a Sentence
Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam, (1998) 2005
John D. was indisputably a great philanthropist. He took care of his family first, of course; but he founded the University of Chicago in 1892, the Rockefeller Institute (now Rockefeller University) in 1901, and the Rockefeller Foundation in 1911, and made other substantial gifts along the way.
—Robert M. Solow, New Republic, 23 Dec. 2002
You had to admire it and admire the man, who sat now like a benign locust, his slender insectile body swamped in a black leather chair, leaning over the desk, all smiles, a parasite disguised as a philanthropist.
—Zadie Smith, White Teeth, 2000
… a hundred-and-one-year-old Jewish philanthropist in Hartsdale named Henry J. Gaisman donated two and a quarter million dollars to the Archdiocese to purchase the property and preserve the integrity of the landmark.
—Brendan Gill, New Yorker, 10 June 1991
Lindzi Scharf, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Shaheen and Anil Nanji, longtime LACO advocates, community leaders and philanthropists, received the LACO Heartstrings Award.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 9 Apr. 2024
Seinfeld has been married to his wife Jessica, a cookbook author and philanthropist, since 1999.
—Dustin Nelson, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
During the same era in Britain, philanthropists donated books to libraries for community enrichment, but only among the stacks; these libraries did not generally circulate books.
—Elizabeth Webster, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024
Ryan takes the baton As for Ryan, the CSO’s 12th maestro addressed a group of community leaders and philanthropists Tuesday night at a gathering at Bank of America headquarters in uptown.
—Adam Bell, Charlotte Observer, 3 Apr. 2024
The world needs philanthropists willing to make imperfect bets and continue evolving based on real-time feedback.
—Kris Putnam-Walkerly, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Shanahan, a lawyer, philanthropist and ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, provided $4 million to support a controversial $7 million Kennedy advertisement that ran during the Super Bowl.
—Suhail Bhat, USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
Bezos has been giving out these awards to philanthropists since 2021.
—Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'philanthropist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Philanthropist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/philanthropist. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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