benign

English

Etymology

From Middle English benigne, benygne, from Old French benigne, from Latin benignus (“kind, good”), from bene (“well”) + genus (“origin, kind”). Compare malign.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /bɪˈnaɪn/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (Australia) IPA^(key): /bɪˈnɑen/
• Rhymes: -aɪn

Adjective

benign (comparative benigner or more benign, superlative benignest or most benign)

1. Kind; gentle; mild.
   • 1826, [Mary Shelley], chapter IX, in The Last Man. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC:

     But though we both entertained these ideas, we differed in their application. Resentment added also a sting to my censure; and I reprobated Raymond's conduct in severe terms. Adrian was more benign, more considerate.

   • 1982 December 18, Nancy Walker, “Doodle, Turkey and Pumpkin”, in Gay Community News, volume 10, number 22, page 6:

     I people my world with benign spirits. Everything talks to me and I respond to it.

   • 2023 March 14, Iris Goldsztajn, “Was Hugh Grant Being Rude to Ashley Graham at the Oscars? The Internet Is Seriously Divided”, in Marie Claire‎^[1]:

     During it, [Ashley] Graham attempted to ask the actor [Hugh Grant] a series of benign questions, and he gave her very little to work with.

2. (climatology, ecology) Of a climate or environment, mild and favorable.
3. (ecology, in combination) Not harmful to the environment.

   an ozone-benign refrigerant

4. (medicine, oncology) Not posing any serious threat to health; not particularly aggressive or recurrent.

   Synonym: nonmalignant

   Antonym: malignant

   a benign tumor

   • 2025 August 14, Angela Haupt, “What to Know About the Horned ‘Zombie’ Rabbits Hopping Around Colorado”, in TIME‎^[2], archived from the original on 17 August 2025:

     Despite the gruesome way it looks, cottontail rabbit papillomavirus is often benign, and many rabbits end up fighting it off on their own.

Antonyms

• malign

Derived terms

• benignancy
• benignant
• benignity
• benignly
• benign neglect
• benignness
• benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
• benign prostate enlargement
• benign prostatic hyperplasia
• nonbenign
• unbenign

Translations

kind, gentle, mild

• Arabic: كَرِيم (karīm), لَطِيف (ar) (laṭīf)
• Bulgarian: до́бър (bg) (dóbăr), благ (bg) (blag), прия́тен (bg) (prijáten), мил (bg) (mil), любе́зен (bg) (ljubézen)
• Catalan: benigne (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 和藹 / 和蔼 (zh) (hé'ǎi), 溫和 / 温和 (zh) (wēnhé), 善良 (zh) (shànliáng)

• Czech: laskavý (cs), vlídný (cs), dobrotivý
• Dutch: goedaardig (nl)
• Finnish: ystävällinen (fi)
• French: bénin (fr)
• Georgian: კეთილშობილი (ḳetilšobili)
• German: freundlich (de), gütig (de), liebevoll (de)
• Greek: αγαθός (el) m (agathós), καλοκάγαθος (el) m (kalokágathos)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: xweşmirov (ku), camêr (ku), qenc (ku)

• Latin: benignus
• Māori: māhaki
• Middle English: benigne
• Polish: łagodny (pl)
• Portuguese: benigno (pt)
• Romanian: blând (ro)
• Russian: до́брый (ru) (dóbryj) (kind), любе́зный (ru) (ljubéznyj) (amiable), мя́гкий (ru) (mjáxkij) (mild, e.g. of measures), прия́тный (ru) (prijátnyj) (pleasant), благоприя́тный (ru) (blagoprijátnyj) (favorable)
• Slovak: mierny, prívetivý
• Spanish: benigno (es)
• Turkmen: tultuk

(of a climate or environment) mild and favorable

•  Chinese:

   Mandarin: 溫和 / 温和 (zh) (wēnhé), 宜人 (zh) (yírén)

•  Finnish: lauhkea (fi)
•  French: please add this translation if you can

(in combination) not harmful to the environment

•  Chinese:

   Mandarin: 無害 / 无害 (zh) (wúhài)

•  Finnish: ystävällinen (fi)
•  French: please add this translation if you can

(medicine) not posing any serious threat to health — see also malignant

• Armenian: բարորակ (hy) (barorak)
• Azerbaijani: zərərsiz, xətərsiz
• Bulgarian: доброка́чествен (bg) (dobrokáčestven)
• Catalan: benigne (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 良性 (zh) (liángxìng), 無害 / 无害 (zh) (wúhài)

• Czech: nezhoubný m, benigní (cs), neškodný (cs)
• Dutch: goedaardig (nl)
• Esperanto: benigna (eo)
• Finnish: hyvänlaatuinen (fi)
• French: bénin (fr)
• Georgian: კეთილთვისებიანი (ḳetiltvisebiani)
• German: gutartig (de)
• Greek: καλοήθης (el) m or f (kaloḯthis)
• Hungarian: jóindulatú (hu), benignus (hu)
• Italian: benigno (it)
• Lithuanian: gerybinis
• Macedonian: доброќуден (dobroḱuden)
• Māori: ngū
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: godartet

  Nynorsk: godarta

• Persian: خوش‌خیم (xoš-xim)
• Polish: łagodny (pl), nieszkodliwy (pl)
• Portuguese: benigno (pt)
• Romanian: benign (ro) (med.)
• Russian: доброка́чественный (ru) (dobrokáčestvennyj) (of good quality)
• Slovak: nezhubný
• Spanish: benigno (es)
• Swedish: godartad (sv), benign (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkmen: zyýansyz (tk)
• Ukrainian: доброя́кісний (dobrojákisnyj)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Ido: ^{(please verify)} benigna (io)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} benign (ro)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} godartad (sv)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin benignus or French bénin.

Adjective

benign m or n (feminine singular benignă, masculine plural benigni, feminine/neuter plural benigne)

1. (medicine) benign

Declension

Declension of benign

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	benign		benignă	benigni	benigne
	definite	benignul		benigna	benignii	benignele
genitive- dative	indefinite	benign		benigne	benigni	benigne
	definite	benignului		benignei	benignilor	benignelor

Swedish

Adjective

benign (not comparable)

1. (medicine) benign

   Synonym: godartad

   Antonyms: malign, elakartad

Declension

Inflection of benign

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	benign	—	—
neuter singular	benignt	—	—
plural	benigna	—	—
masculine plural2	benigne	—	—
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	benigne	—	—
all	benigna	—	—

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

References

• “benign”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “benign”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)