benign.

1. Kindly, mild, or not threatening harm.

2. Not cancerous or malignant, in a medical classification.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a benign smile
• a benign influence

On the page

Her benign smile gave him permission to begin again.

The governor’s benign manner concealed neither a threat nor a promise.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary. Forms: Comparative more benign; superlative most benign where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.