Munificence
What it means
Exceptional generosity in giving money, resources, or support.
Reach for it when giving elevated praise to unusually large and openhanded giving
The foundation's munificence funded ten years of free music lessons.
Words to choose between 9
| warm | |
|---|---|
| professional | |
| formal |
|
| literary |
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warm
Fits when willingness to give or share is the broad quality
Careful Generosity covers small acts and may understate exceptional scale.
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warm
lavish generosity
Fits when plain wording should preserve the exceptional scale
Careful Lavish can imply excess or poor stewardship.
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warm
Fits when readiness to give freely deserves approachable praise
Careful The uncommon noun concerns manner and may not establish scale or impact.
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professional
Fits when organized giving serves a public or charitable aim
Careful Philanthropy can be strategic or institutional and does not prove personal munificence.
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formal
Fits when active doing of good through gifts or support matters
Careful Beneficence is abstract, elevated, and can invite uncritical praise.
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formal
Fits when goodwill and desire to help are central
Careful Benevolence is an attitude and can sound paternalistic without shared control.
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formal
Fits when openhanded giving is the established sense
Careful Liberality is rare in this sense and easily confused with political liberalism.
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literary
Fits when abundant provision or gifts are the image
Careful Bounty may be harvest or reward, with no generous giver at all.
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literary
Fits when abundant gifts come from a wealthy or powerful source
Careful Largesse can imply patronage, display, or unequal power.
Opposites 3
- stinginess
- miserliness
- parsimony
Common phrases 3
-
act of munificence
The unrestricted grant was an act of munificence and trust.
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royal munificence
The gallery was once supported by royal munificence.
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owe to munificence
The scholarship owes its survival to one family's munificence.
Usage notes
Keep in mind
Munificence praises scale of giving, not necessarily fairness, effectiveness, or the source of wealth.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated