Benign Definition

bĭ-nīn

adjective

benigner, benignest

Good-natured; kindly.

Webster's New World

Favorable; beneficial.

Webster's New World

Tending to exert a beneficial influence; favorable.

A policy with benign consequences for the economy.

American Heritage

Doing little or no harm; not malignant; specif., not cancerous.

Benign tumors.

Webster's New World

Gentle or kind.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Other Word Forms of Benign

Base Form:

benign

Comparative:

benigner

Superlative:

benignest

From Old French benigne, from Latin benignus (“kind, good”), from bonus (“good”) + genus (“origin, kind”). Compare malign.

From Wiktionary
Middle English benigne from Old French from Latin benignus genə- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition