How to Use benevolent in a Sentence

benevolent

adjective
  • They tore out the windows of the club's simple storefront and bricked them over and left two much smaller windows … so that the look of the club changed from that of a benevolent neighborhood organization to that of a paramilitary one.
    "The Talk of the Town",
  • He belonged to several benevolent societies and charitable organizations.
  • Instead the team thinks the best fit is the more benevolent scenario.
    National Geographic, 4 Apr. 2016
  • Among the many myths and claims, there is the theory of a benevolent Mothman.
    Emma Platoff, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Nov. 2022
  • Out here, in nature and benevolent hands, guns seem to me more sporty than evil.
    Rachel Levin, Bon Appétit, 19 Sep. 2022
  • These days, the set list is mostly old songs, and the vibe is largely benevolent.
    Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 28 Nov. 2022
  • Can the drone shot be benevolent, or, at the very least, objective?
    Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2023
  • The Break is being spread by the four Tantas, once benevolent rulers who’ve gone mad from it.
    George Yang, Variety, 23 Jan. 2023
  • Today, the state’s modern army of scribes presents Xi as just this type of benevolent ruler.
    Michael Schuman, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2022
  • As a boy, Amleth lives in a benevolent corner of this world.
    New York Times, 21 Apr. 2022
  • Those who take them should get the setting right—a safe place, with benevolent people and a sober friend around.
    The Economist, 7 June 2019
  • Grey-haired Tom presided over the place in a silent, benevolent manner.
    Angela Rocco Decarlo, WSJ, 17 Mar. 2022
  • As Ely puts it in his author’s note, medicine must be more than benevolent.
    Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021
  • Their goal is to become the world’s favorite benevolent brand.
    Afdhel Aziz, Forbes, 24 June 2022
  • The two priests’ faith in a benevolent God is tested to the absolute limit.
    John Hopewell, Variety, 4 Oct. 2022
  • But the once-benevolent king appears to have succumbed to avarice and begun meddling with the book of creation.
    Edwin Evans-Thirlwell, Washington Post, 19 Jan. 2023
  • She was taught to read and write by the benevolent mistress whose family owned her.
    Sam Roberts, BostonGlobe.com, 29 July 2023
  • At the time of Esther’s musing, in the spring of 1911, those attentions seem benevolent.
    Wendy Smith, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2023
  • Then the benevolent forces of the universe sweep in and collect our broken parts, our flaws and jagged edges, and turn them into works of art.
    Danielle Pergament, Allure, 9 Nov. 2022
  • But even seasoned pilots warn that the air is not benevolent.
    Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press, 27 Jan. 2020
  • Ayoade will play his son, Tyrannis, who is the benevolent king of Krapopolis, because of course.
    Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2021
  • The benevolent warden built them a stilt home with a lovely water view, plus a web of netting to swing on.
    Vincent Crampton, OrlandoSentinel.com, 6 May 2018
  • The baby turns out to be a gentle giant — a benevolent ruler loved by his people.
    Alex Suskind, EW.com, 19 July 2019
  • In Mullen’s view, the system that served the band well for so long has now become more of a benevolent dictatorship.
    Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, 28 Nov. 2022
  • At the heart of the play are machinations and scheming, of both the benevolent and malevolent sort, designed to steer or derail the course of love.
    Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2022
  • Flavor chooses to dance for his money and not do benevolent work like this.
    Neil Shah, WSJ, 3 Mar. 2020
  • One of the greatest plays ever written has made its way to you like some sort of message in a bottle sent by a benevolent force.
    Alex Watt, The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2019
  • Those benevolent qualities made Carter, like the saint, a very good man — but not a great president.
    Washington Post, 18 June 2021
  • The push asks people simply to pledge to perform one benevolent act every 24 hours.
    Kaitlyn Bancroft, The Salt Lake Tribune, 12 Apr. 2022
  • Albert I, who sought to recast his uncle as a benevolent king.
    Yasmeen Serhan, The Atlantic, 25 June 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'benevolent.' 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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