benignant
/bɪˈnɪɡnənt
/adjective
1Kindly and benevolent: an old man with a benignant expression...
- They were sitting in the long gallery watching with calm benignant eyes the daily performance of sun and earth which had so often been repeated in front of them that they could almost prompt the actors.
- She is one of the esteemed ladies of the city, gracious, kind and benignant of character, and a model mother to her family.
- The expression of his face was kind and benignant, and denoted goodness of heart.
2 Medicine a less common term for benign.Keloid is a peculiar form of fibroma which, although benignant as regards any general infection, invariably recurs locally after removal....
- It means it is the same whether healthy, benignant or malignant cells are concerned, the only important thing is how great the actual growth rate is.
- It spreads from the benignant disease uncomplicated partial mole to the most malignant choriocarcinoma in stage IV of disease with brain metastases.
3 archaic Having a good effect; beneficial: the benignant touch of love and beauty...
- Water power was the first to raise hopes that mankind might be eased from severe toil by the benignant help of Nature.
- Upon this occasion I particularly lamented that he had not that warmth of friendship for his brilliant pupil, which we may suppose would have had a benignant effect on both.
- My wife joined me there, and the visit had a very benignant effect on her.
Derivatives
benignancy
/ noun ...- Malignancy or benignancy was established if patients had definitive pathology of the lesion in question.
- A trained SVM and one expert chest radiologist classified 136 cases to benignancy and malignancy.
- We showed that it is possible to estimate VCF risk of malignancy or benignancy using a small set of variables.
benignantly
- Dr. Johnson smiled benignantly at this, and did not appear to disapprove of the notion.
- She smiled benignantly and continued in a soft, melodious voice: ‘Listen, dear, I am an old woman and I will soon be dying.’
- And his majesty received them kindly and benignantly, and ordered that they should be treated like his other subjects and vassals.
Origin
Late 18th century: from benign, or Latin benignus, on the pattern of malignant.
Rhymes
- line of argument
- line of battle
- line of communications
- line of credit
- line of fire
- line of flight
- line of force
- line of latitude
- line of longitude
- line of march
- line of scrimmage
- line of sight
- line of thought
- line of vision
- line one's pocket
- line one's stomach
- line out
- line printer
- liner
- -liner
- liner note
- line score
- lineside
- linesman
- line someone/thing up