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benign

Pronunciation: /bɪˈnʌɪn/

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Definition of benign

adjective

  • 1gentle and kind:his benign but firm manner
  • (of a climate or environment) mild and favourable: the climate becomes more benign as we move nearer to the Black Sea
  • not harmful to the environment:the cycle as a benign form of transport [in combination]:an ozone-benign refrigerant
  • 2 Medicine (of a disease) not harmful in effect: a benign condition
  • (of a tumour) not malignant: benign growths

Derivatives

benignity

noun

benignly

adverb

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French benigne, from Latin benignus, probably from bene 'well' + -genus '-born'. Compare with gentle1

Spelling help

The ending of benign is spelled -ign.

benign in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of benign in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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