generous

generous
—generously, adv. —generousness, n.
/jen"euhr euhs/, adj.
1. liberal in giving or sharing; unselfish: a generous patron of the arts; a generous gift.
2. free from meanness or smallness of mind or character; magnanimous.
3. large; abundant; ample: a generous portion of pie.
4. rich or strong in flavor: a generous wine.
5. fertile; prolific: generous soil.
[1580-90; < MF généreux < L generosus of noble birth, equiv. to gener- (see GENDER2) + -osus -OUS]
Syn. 1. open-handed, free, unstinting. GENEROUS, CHARITABLE, LIBERAL, BOUNTIFUL, MUNIFICENT all describe persons who give to others something of value, or the acts of such persons. GENEROUS stresses the warm and sympathetic nature of the giver: a generous gift; generous in praise of the work of others. CHARITABLE places stress on both the goodness and kindness of the giver and the indigence or need of the receiver: charitable assistance to the needy; a charitable person, always willing to help those less fortunate than herself. LIBERAL, in this connection, emphasizes the size of the gift, the largesse and openhandedness of the giver: a liberal contribution to the endowment fund.
BOUNTIFUL implies effusive, unstinted giving and a sense of abundance or plenty: bountiful and unrestricted support for the museum; a bountiful return for his efforts. MUNIFICENT refers to gifts or awards so large and striking as to evoke amazement or admiration: a life income, a truly munificent reward for his loyalty; a munificent contribution, larger by far than any other. 2. high-minded, noble, big. 3. plentiful, copious. 5. fruitful.
Ant. 1. selfish. 2. mean. 3. meager. 5. barren.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Generous — Gen er*ous, a. [F. g[ e]n[ e]reux, fr. L. generous of noble birth, noble, excellent, magnanimous, fr. genus birth, race: cf. It. generoso. See 2d {Gender}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Of honorable birth or origin; highborn. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Generous — Upload / Commons Upload Père : Caerleon …   Wikipédia en Français

  • generous — [jen′ər əs] adj. [L generosus, of noble birth, excellent, generous < genus: see GENUS] 1. Obs. of noble birth 2. having qualities attributed to people of noble birth; noble minded; gracious; magnanimous 3. giving or sharing liberally and… …   English World dictionary

  • generous — I adjective altruistic, beneficent, benevolent, big hearted, bountiful, capacious, charitable, chivalrous, copious, decent, donative, gracious, humane, kind, kindly, magnanimous, meritorious, munificent, noble, philanthropic, unselfish, warm… …   Law dictionary

  • generous — 1580s, of noble birth, from M.Fr. généreux, from L. generosus of noble birth, figuratively magnanimous, generous, from genus (gen. generis) race, stock (see GENUS (Cf. genus)). Secondary senses of unselfish (1690s) and plentiful (1610s) were… …   Etymology dictionary

  • generous — [adj1] giving, big hearted acceptable, altruistic, beneficent, benevolent, big, bounteous, bountiful, charitable, considerate, easy, equitable, excellent, fair, free, good, greathearted, helpful, high minded, honest, honorable, hospitable, just,… …   New thesaurus

  • generous — bountiful, bounteous, openhanded, munificent, *liberal, handsome Analogous words: lavish, prodigal, *profuse, exuberant: benevolent, philanthropic, eleemosynary, *charitable, altruistic Antonyms: stingy Contrasted words: close, closefisted,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • generous — ► ADJECTIVE 1) freely giving more than is necessary or expected. 2) kind towards others. 3) larger or more plentiful than is usual. DERIVATIVES generosity noun generously adverb. ORIGIN originally in the sense «of noble birth»: from Latin… …   English terms dictionary

  • generous — gen|er|ous [ dʒen(ə)rəs ] adjective ** 1. ) giving people more of your time or money than is usual or expected: Merton is clearly a warm and generous human being. generous to: Billy was very generous to people who had less than he did. generous… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • generous */*/ — UK [ˈdʒenərəs] / US [ˈdʒen(ə)rəs] adjective 1) giving people more of your time or money than is usual or expected Merton is clearly a warm and generous person. generous to: Billy was very generous to people who had less than he did. generous with …   English dictionary

  • generous — gen|e|rous [ˈdʒenərəs] adj [Date: 1500 1600; : French; Origin: généreux, from Latin generosus born into a high rank , from genus; GENUS] 1.) someone who is generous is willing to give money, spend time etc, in order to help people or give them… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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