charitable
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
relating to organisations that help people who are poor, sick, or in need.
relating to the assistance of those in need or the formal status of a non-profit organisation.
Simple“The school held a bake sale to raise money for a charitable cause.”
In context“The foundation maintains its charitable status by proving that its primary activities provide a clear benefit to the public rather than private shareholders.”
UsageOften used before a noun to describe organisations, donations, or work.
SynonymsAntonymsprofit making - 02 C1 Advanced
being kind and generous when you judge other people's actions or words.
characterised by kindness or leniency in judging others; disposed to think well of people.
Simple“He gave a charitable interpretation of her mistake, saying she was just tired.”
In context“Even a charitable reading of the report suggests that the management team was significantly underprepared for the crisis.”
Teacher's tipIn modern English, this sense is often used when someone is trying to be 'nice' about a bad situation or a poor performance.
“The Tata Group is uniquely structured - a charitable arm called Tata Trusts owns 66% of the group's parent company, Tata Sons.”
“That is, they need to work for the government at any level, including public schools, or at any charitable nonprofit .”
From Old French charitable.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.