beneficence
/bəˈnɛf.ɪ.səns/
"beneficence" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“beneficence” is uncommon English (frequency #92,378 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #92,378
- frequency rank, English
- 31,241
- “B” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The practice of doing good, such as acts of philanthropy, kind deeds; or other acts which benefit someone else.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | beneficence |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /bəˈnɛf.ɪ.səns/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #92,378 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “beneficence” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
beneficence is uncommon English at frequency #92,378 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /bəˈnɛf.ɪ.səns/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for beneficence, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English beneficence, from Latin beneficentia. The correct English form is beneficence, spelled B-E-N-E-F-I-C-E-N-C-E.
Definition
- 1The practice of doing good, such as acts of philanthropy, kind deeds; or other acts which benefit someone else.
- 2Good or charitable character or behavior.
- 3A duty or obligation to act in the best interests of another, especially a patient or beneficiary.
Etymology
From Middle English beneficence, from Latin beneficentia.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “beneficence”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-E-N-E-F-I-C-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /bəˈnɛf.ɪ.səns/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.