gen·er·ous

(jĕn′ər-əs)

adj.

1. Liberal in giving or sharing. See Synonyms at liberal.

2. Showing kindness and magnanimity: It was generous of him to mention us in his remarks.

3. Marked by abundance; ample: a generous slice of cake.

4. Having a rich bouquet and flavor: a generous wine.

5. Obsolete Of noble lineage.

[French genereux, of noble birth, magnanimous, from Latin generōsus, from genus, gener-, birth; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]

gen′er·ous·ly adv.

gen′er·ous·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

generous

(ˈdʒɛnərəs; ˈdʒɛnrəs)

adj

1. willing and liberal in giving away one's money, time, etc; munificent

2. free from pettiness in character and mind

3. full or plentiful: a generous portion.

4. (Brewing) (of wine) rich in alcohol

5. (Agriculture) (of a soil type) fertile

[C16: via Old French from Latin generōsus nobly born, from genus race; see genus]

ˈgenerously adv

ˈgenerousness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gen•er•ous

(ˈdʒɛn ər əs)

adj.

1. liberal in giving or sharing; unselfish.

2. free from meanness or pettiness; magnanimous.

3. large; abundant: a generous piece of pie.

4. rich or strong in flavor: a generous wine.

5. fertile; prolific: generous soil.

[1580–90; < Middle French généreux < Latin generōsus of noble birth <gener-, genus genus + -ōsus -ous]

gen′er•ous•ly, adv.

gen′er•ous•ness, n.

syn: generous, charitable, liberal, munificent all describe giving or sharing something of value. generous stresses the warm and sympathetic nature of the giver: a retired executive, generous with her time. charitable stresses the goodness and kindness of the giver and the need of the receiver: a charitable contribution to a nursing home. liberal emphasizes the large size of the gift and the openhandedness of the giver: a liberal bequest to the university. munificent refers to a gift or award so strikingly large as to evoke amazement or admiration: a lifetime income, a truly munificent reward for his loyalty.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	generous - willing to give and share unstintingly; "a generous donation" charitable - full of love and generosity; "charitable to the poor"; "a charitable trust" generous - not petty in character and mind; "unusually generous in his judgment of people" unselfish - disregarding your own advantages and welfare over those of others stingy, ungenerous - unwilling to spend; "she practices economy without being stingy"; "an ungenerous response to the appeal for funds"
	2.	generous - not petty in character and mind; "unusually generous in his judgment of people" generous - willing to give and share unstintingly; "a generous donation" meanspirited, ungenerous - lacking in magnanimity; "it seems ungenerous to end this review of a splendid work of scholarship on a critical note"- Times Litt. Sup.; "a meanspirited man unwilling to forgive"
	3.	generous - more than adequate; "a generous portion" ample - more than enough in size or scope or capacity; "had ample food for the party"; "an ample supply"

generous

adjective

1. liberal, lavish, free, charitable, free-handed, hospitable, prodigal, bountiful, open-handed, unstinting, beneficent, princely, bounteous, munificent, ungrudging He's very generous with his money.
liberal mean, selfish, cheap, tight, greedy, stingy, parsimonious, miserly, avaricious, close-fisted

2. magnanimous, kind, noble, benevolent, good, big, high-minded, unselfish, big-hearted, ungrudging He was not generous enough to congratulate his successor.

3. plentiful, lavish, ample, abundant, full, rich, liberal, overflowing, copious, bountiful, unstinting, profuse, bounteous (literary), plenteous a room with a generous amount of storage space
plentiful small, tiny, meagre, minimal, scanty

Proverbs
"It is easy to be generous with other people's property"

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

generous

adjective

1. Characterized by bounteous giving:

free, freehanded, handsome, lavish, liberal, munificent, openhanded, unsparing, unstinting.

2. Willing to give of oneself and one's possessions:

big, big-hearted, great-hearted, large-hearted, magnanimous, unselfish.

3. Characterized by abundance:

abundant, ample, bounteous, bountiful, copious, heavy, plenitudinous, plenteous, plentiful, substantial, voluminous.

Translations

سَموح، مُتَسامِحكريمكَريمكَرِيـموافِر

štědrývelkodušnývelkorysýpořádný

generøsrigeligstorsindetgavmild

großzügig generös großmütig nobel üppig

γενναιόδωρος γερός γαλαντόμος

generoso abundante espléndido

anteliasjalosukuinen

généreux généreuse

darežljivizdašanobilatplemenitvelikodušan

göfuglyndur; sáttfúsörláturríflegur, stór

generoso liberale abbondante generosit...

気前のよい

인심 좋은

dosniaikilniaširdiškaikilniaširdiškaskilniaširdiškumaskilnus

augstsirdīgsbagātīgsdāsnsdevīgs

vrijgevig

rundhåndet sjenerøs storsinnet

hojny

generoso

щедрый благородный великодушный

riadnyveľkorysý

obilenradodaren

generös

ใจกว้าง

cömertbağışlayıcıbol büyük çokça

hào phóng

大方的大量的宽宏大量的慷慨的

generous

[ˈdʒenərəs] ADJ

1. (= not mean) [person, mood] → generoso
she must have been feeling generous → debía sentirse generosa or dadivosa
she was generous in her praise of him → se deshizo en elogios para con él
she was generous in her praise of what he'd done → hizo grandes elogios de lo que había realizado
that's very generous of you → eso es muy generoso de tu parte
he was rather too generous with the chilli sauce → se pasó un poco con la salsa picante, se le fue un poco la mano con la salsa picante
to be generous with one's money → ser generoso or desprendido con el dinero
be generous with the cream → no escatimes la nata
he wasn't exactly generous with the whisky → no fue muy espléndido que digamos con el whisky

2. (= lavish, sizeable) [gift] → espléndido; [donation] → cuantioso, generoso; [rise] → importante, generoso; [pay, offer] → generoso; [portion] → grande, generoso; [bosom, figure] → opulento
very generous credit terms → unas condiciones de crédito muy favorables
a generous amount of sth → una buena cantidad de algo
a generous helping of sth → una ración generosa de algo, una buena ración de algo

3. (= kind) [person, gesture] → amable
it was very generous of Nigel to say what he did → fue muy amable por parte de Nigel decir lo que dijo
thank you for your generous remarks → gracias por sus amables observaciones

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

generous

[ˈdʒɛn^ərəs] adj

(= person) → généreux/euse
That's very generous of you → C'est très généreux de votre part.

[donation, gift] → généreux/euse; [support] → généreux/euse

[helping, portion] → copieux/euse, généreux/euse
a generous size
The house is a generous size → La maison est assez grande.
a generous amount of sth [+ ingredient] → une bonne dose de qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

generous

adj

(= liberal) person, mood → großzügig; they were in a less generous mood → sie waren weniger großzügig; to be generous in one’s praise → mit Lob nicht geizen, voll des Lobes sein (geh); to be generous with one’s time → großzügig mit seiner Zeit umgehen; he was generous in sharing his knowledge → er ließ andere an seinem Wissen großzügig teilhaben

(= lavish) gift, hospitality, subsidy, prize, sum, offer → großzügig; terms → günstig; (= plentiful) portion, supply → reichlich; a generous amount or helping of … → eine reichliche Portion …; to be a generous size → großzügig bemessen sein; a generous size 14 → eine groß ausgefallene Größe 14; with the generous support of … → mit großzügiger Unterstützung von …; the car has a generous boot (Brit) or trunk (US) → der Wagen hat einen großzügigen Kofferraum

(= kind) person, gesture, spirit → großmütig; remarks → wohlwollend; she was generous in defeat → sie war eine großmütige Verliererin; they were generous enough to overlook the mistake → sie waren so großzügig, den Fehler zu übersehen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

generous

[ˈdʒɛn/ərəs] adj (gen) → generoso/a; (plentiful, supply, quantity) → abbondante, generoso/a
to be generous with sth → essere prodigo/a di qc

generous

(ˈdʒenərəs) adjective

(negative ungenerous).

1. willing to give a lot of money, time etc for some purpose. a generous giver; It is very generous of you to pay for our holiday.

2. large; larger than necessary. a generous sum of money; a generous piece of cake.

3. kind, willing to forgive. Try to be generous and forgive; a person's generous nature/remarks.

ˈgenerously adverb

ˌgeneˈrosity (-ˈrosəti) noun

generous

→ كَرِيـم štědrý generøs großzügig γενναιόδωρος generoso antelias généreux darežljiv generoso 気前のよい 인심 좋은 vrijgevig sjenerøs hojny generoso щедрый generös ใจกว้าง cömert hào phóng 慷慨的

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Allworthy answered, "That he was sorry for what his nephew had done, but could not consent to punish him, as he acted rather from a generous than unworthy motive." He said, "If the boy had stolen the bird, none would have been more ready to vote for a severe chastisement than himself; but it was plain that was not his design:" and, indeed, it was as apparent to him, that he could have no other view but what he had himself avowed.

View in context

He is a very kindly, generous man, and anyone who has ever written stories will know that it is much more difficult to make kindly, generous characters interesting than unkindly and mean ones.

View in context

He was generous, and the needy, laughing at him because he believed so naively their stories of distress, borrowed from him with effrontery.

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Indian Trail.- Rough Mountain Travelling.- Sufferings From Hunger and Thirst- Powder River.- Game in Abundance.-A Hunter's Paradise.- Mountain Peak Seen at a Great Distance.- One of the Bighorn Chain.- Rocky Mountains.- Extent.- Appearance.- Height.- The Great American Desert.- Various Characteristics of the Mountains.- Indian Superstitions Concerning Them.- Land of Souls.- Towns of the Free and Generous Spirits- Happy Hunting Grounds.

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But, come now, I am going to be generous. I am going to help you on a little.

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"Generous man!" cried the Astronomer, glowing with warm and elevated sentiments, "pay me, then, what you will."

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To avoid the blessing, still a secret, he resorts to a commonplace; literally, "For what generous man is not (in befriending others) a friend to himself?"

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The autocratic sway of the West Wind, whether forty north or forty south of the Equator, is characterized by an open, generous, frank, barbarous recklessness.

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"It is, indeed, my Lady." Rich and generous as he knew his mistress to be, her proposal to pay the whole subscription took the steward by surprise.

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But he could not draw back from the generous word when it was once uttered, even though he felt now, vaguely foreseeing certain eventualities in his intrigue with Madame Karenina, that this generous word had been spoken thoughtlessly, and that even though he were not married he might need all the hundred thousand of income.

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Charles thought it was a burst of generous friendship, and admired the self-denial with which she urged her aunt to relinquish the idea.

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"An unfortunate circumstance for you," said the king, in a less generous tone of voice.

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