If a person, a group, or even a look is benevolent, they are kind and generous: they wish you well and do not mean to hurt you. We often put it with people who have some power — a benevolent teacher, a benevolent boss, a benevolent ruler — because the word says they use that power gently. Older English also named charity groups “benevolent societies.” Though actually, everyday speakers sometimes use it more loosely for a warm smile or a friendly manner, even when nobody is giving anything away. It sounds fairly formal, a little old-fashioned; in chat many people would just say kind or generous. The dark twin is malevolent: wishing harm. English took benevolent from Old French, from Latin benevolēns; it pushed aside native Old English welwillende, which meant “well-wishing.”