beneficent

/bəˈnɛ.fɪ.sənt/

//bəˈnɛ.fɪ.sənt// adj

"beneficent" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“beneficent” is uncommon English (frequency #75,652 among 31,241 “B” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#75,652
frequency rank, English
31,241
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Given to acts that are kind, charitable, philanthropic or beneficial.

Key facts for beneficent
PropertyValue
Headwordbeneficent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/bəˈnɛ.fɪ.sənt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#75,652
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “beneficent” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). beneficent lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

beneficent is uncommon English at frequency #75,652 among 31,241 “B” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /bəˈnɛ.fɪ.sənt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Given to acts that are kind, charitable, philanthropic or beneficial.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for beneficent, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin *beneficens, *beneficent-, from bene (“well, good”) + -ficens, combining form from faciens, present participle of facere (“to make or do”). Compare English beneficence. The correct English form is beneficent, spelled B-E-N-E-F-I-C-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Given to acts that are kind, charitable, philanthropic or beneficial.

Etymology

From Latin *beneficens, *beneficent-, from bene (“well, good”) + -ficens, combining form from faciens, present participle of facere (“to make or do”). Compare English beneficence.

Synonyms

Antonyms

This word in other languages

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

How do you spell "beneficent"?
"beneficent" is spelled B-E-N-E-F-I-C-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /bəˈnɛ.fɪ.sənt/.
What does "beneficent" mean?
As an adjective, "beneficent" means: Given to acts that are kind, charitable, philanthropic or beneficial.
How do you pronounce "beneficent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "beneficent" is /bəˈnɛ.fɪ.sənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "beneficent"?
From Latin *beneficens, *beneficent-, from bene (“well, good”) + -ficens, combining form from faciens, present participle of facere (“to make or do”). Compare English beneficence. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “beneficent”

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-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /bəˈnɛ.fɪ.sənt/ (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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list