bestow
verb
transitive verb
Frances Towers R. L. Stevenson Rayner Heppenstall 
Synonyms
- contribute
- donate
- give
- give away
- present
- volunteer
Example Sentences
Randall Colburn, EW.com, 5 Sep. 2022 For years the skillet lived on the top-right burner of our stove, getting the level of care and attention most people bestow on a pet. Ariella Gintzler, Outside Online, 27 July 2022 The band’s relentless blankness invites devotees, known as Directioners, to bestow on it a surfeit of meaning. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 June 2022 That means the former president, who continues to bestow blessings, is almost certainly continuing to collect more money. Zach Everson, Forbes, 24 June 2022 The opportunity to bestow such praise on a teammate represented a marked change for Ohtani and the team that employs him, writes columnist Dylan Hernández. Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2022 For its sweeping repercussions, Title IX passed with little fanfare, a notable whisper nestled between two other landmark provisions meant to bestow rights to women within a 12-month period: The Equal Rights Amendment and Roe v. Wade. New York Times, 23 June 2022 Dacia designers included just enough flourishes to bestow presence, especially in our car's Terracotta Brown Metallic. Jonathon Ramsey, Car and Driver, 8 July 2022 The Good News: God is always there to bestow peace onto his followers. Martha Sorren, Woman's Day, 1 June 2022 See More Word History
Middle English, from be- + stowe place — more at stow
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
bestow
verb
bestow
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- donate
- give
- volunteer
- provide
- contribute
- present
- offer
- award
- confer
- furnish
- render
- give away
- issue
- give of
- afford
- endow
- benefit
- aid
- impart
- pay
- dispense
- lavish
- endue
- assist
- throw in
- sacrifice
- help
- kick in
- proffer
- extend
- indue
- regale
- chip in
- administer
- pitch in
- comp
- hand out
- tender
- dole out
- dish out
- put up
- fork (over, out, or up)
- mete (out)
- pungle (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- hold
- withhold
- retain
- keep
- preserve
- save
- lend
- sell
- advance
- pocket
- loan
Synonyms & Similar Words
- house
- accommodate
- shelter
- lodge
- board
- domicile
- room
- harbor
- take in
- roof
- bunk
- billet
- camp
- quarter
- chamber
- encamp
- stable
- shed
- secure
- home
- bivouac
- ensconce
- put up
- roost
- tent
- barrack
- bed (down)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- eject
- evict
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of bestow are afford, confer, donate, give, and present. While all these words mean "to convey to another as a possession," bestow implies the conveying of something as a gift and may suggest condescension on the part of the giver.
In some situations, the words afford and bestow are roughly equivalent. However, afford implies a giving or bestowing usually as a natural or legitimate consequence of the character of the giver.
While in some cases nearly identical to bestow, confer implies a gracious giving (as of a favor or honor).
The meanings of donate and bestow largely overlap; however, donate is likely to imply a publicized giving (as to charity).
While the synonyms give and bestow are close in meaning, give, the general term, is applicable to any passing over of anything by any means.
The synonyms present and bestow are sometimes interchangeable, but present carries a note of formality and ceremony.