beneficial

English Online Dictionary. What means beneficial‎? What does beneficial mean?

English

Etymology

From Late Latin beneficiālis (“beneficial”), from Latin beneficium (“benefit, favor, kindness”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: bĕnəfĭsh'əl, IPA^(key): /ˌbɛnəˈfɪʃəl/
• Rhymes: -ɪʃəl

Adjective

beneficial (comparative more beneficial, superlative most beneficial)

1. Helpful or good to something or someone.
2. Relating to a benefice.

Synonyms

• (helpful or good): advantageous, behooveful (archaic), helpful, useful
• (relating to a benefice): usufructuary, usufructuous

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “doing harm to someone”): detrimental, maleficial, nocuous, damaging, harmful
• (antonym(s) of “doing neither good nor harm”): innocuous, undamaging, harmless

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

beneficial (plural beneficials)

1. Something that provides a benefit.

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Late Latin beneficiālis

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [bə.nə.fi.siˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [be.ne.fi.siˈal]

Adjective

beneficial m or f (masculine and feminine plural beneficials)

1. (relational) of a benefice

Related terms

• benefici
• beneficiar

Further reading

• “beneficial” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.