Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Highly moral, especially in showing kindness or forgiveness, as in overlooking insults or not seeking revenge.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Great of mind or heart; of high and steadfast courage; elevated in. soul or in sentiment; high-minded; raised above what is low, mean, or ungenerous.
- Dictated by greatness of mind or heart; exhibiting nobleness of soul; liberal and honorable; unselfish.
- Synonyms Generous (see
noble ); high-minded, great-souled, chivalrous.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Great of mind; elevated in soul or in sentiment; raised above what is low, mean, or ungenerous; of lofty and courageous spirit
- adjective Dictated by or exhibiting nobleness of soul; honorable; noble; not selfish.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Noble and generous in spirit.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective noble and generous in spirit
- adjective generous and understanding and tolerant
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word magnanimous.
Examples
-
Their answer is for a platonic oligarchy of a rich class which in magnanimous good will is supposed to provide "jobs" for the middle class.
Dr. Behzad Mohit: The U.S. Tea Party and General Strikes in Europe -- The Outrage of the Middle Class Dr. Behzad Mohit 2010
-
Their answer is for a platonic oligarchy of a rich class which in magnanimous good will is supposed to provide "jobs" for the middle class.
Dr. Behzad Mohit: The U.S. Tea Party and General Strikes in Europe -- The Outrage of the Middle Class Dr. Behzad Mohit 2010
-
Their answer is for a platonic oligarchy of a rich class which in magnanimous good will is supposed to provide "jobs" for the middle class.
Dr. Behzad Mohit: The U.S. Tea Party and General Strikes in Europe -- The Outrage of the Middle Class Dr. Behzad Mohit 2010
-
Their answer is for a platonic oligarchy of a rich class which in magnanimous good will is supposed to provide "jobs" for the middle class.
Dr. Behzad Mohit: The U.S. Tea Party and General Strikes in Europe -- The Outrage of the Middle Class Dr. Behzad Mohit 2010
-
Their answer is for a platonic oligarchy of a rich class which in magnanimous good will is supposed to provide "jobs" for the middle class.
Dr. Behzad Mohit: The U.S. Tea Party and General Strikes in Europe -- The Outrage of the Middle Class Dr. Behzad Mohit 2010
-
He is, in short, magnanimous (for instance, he forgives his enemies their offences).
-
Dr. Weizman, in magnanimous terms, said, "I want nothing for myself, but the Jews are interested in re-establishing in Palestine a cultural home, a religious home, and we would be glad to have the support of the Allies, particularly the British, in our ambition."
-
Mighty of heart, mighty of mind -- "magnanimous" -- to be this, is, indeed, to be great in life; to become this increasingly, is, indeed, to "advance in life," -- in life itself -- not in the trappings of it.
Harvard Classics Volume 28 Essays English and American Various
-
PBS and NPR receive buckets of dough from big advertisers, who these days are known as magnanimous "sponsors."
Reinventing The News Business Requires A Little Imagination - Publishing 2.0 2007
-
Would our city leaders be this magnanimous were the victims black and the attackers white?
arby commented on the word magnanimous
I think this is another one I misread as a child - "magnamanious".
July 19, 2007
shevek commented on the word magnanimous
At least one translation of Aristotle uses the word magnanimous to refer to a person who is neither arrogant nor excessively humble. I like that definition better, because there isn't another word for that meaning, whereas generous is a perfectly good word, and not in need of a synonym.
July 9, 2008
bilby commented on the word magnanimous
If you speak Italian, the conventional English pronunciation of this probably strikes you as ugly.
July 10, 2008