adjective
benign
bih-NYN
adjective
1
Kind, gentle, and well-meaning.
"Her benign smile put the nervous students at ease."
2
In medicine, describing a growth or tumor that is not cancerous and unlikely to spread.
"The doctors confirmed the lump was benign and needed no further treatment."
"A benign tumor can still cause problems if it grows large enough."
How to Use Benign
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishHarmless and gentle — used for kindly people, mild situations, and, in medicine, non-cancerous growths.
Common mistake
The medical opposite of benign is malignant, not "malign" — malign is a different (though related) word meaning to speak badly of someone.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
benign tumor
benign neglect
a benign smile
Word Forms
benigner comparative, more benign comparative, benignest superlative, most benign superlative
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Her _____ smile put the nervous students at ease.
Etymology
From Old French benigne, from Latin benignus, combining bene ("well") and genus ("kind, sort") — literally "of good nature."