Generous opposite word mean

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 6 votes

1. generous

   Generous (Latin genus, a race) primarily signifies having the qualities worthy of noble or honorable birth; hence, free and abundant in giving, giving freely, heartily, and self-sacrificingly. As regards giving, generous refers rather to the self-sacrificing heartiness of the giver, liberal to the amount of the gift; a child may show himself generous in the gift of an apple, a millionaire makes a liberal donation; a generous gift, however, is commonly thought of as both ample and hearty. A munificent gift is vast in amount, whatever the motive of its bestowal. One may be free with another’s money; he can be generous only with his own. Disinterested suggests rather the thought of one’s own self-denial; generous, of one’s hearty interest in another’s welfare or happiness. One is magnanimous by a greatness of soul (Latin magnus, great, and animus, soul) that rises above all that is poor, mean, or weak, especially above every petty or ignoble motive or feeling pertaining to one’s self, and thus above resentment of injury or insult; one is generous by a kindness of heart that would rejoice in the welfare rather than in the punishment of the offender.

   Antonyms:
   avaricious, close, covetous, greedy, ignoble, illiberal, mean, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, penurious, petty, rapacious, stingy

   Synonyms:
   bountiful, chivalrous, disinterested, free, free-handed, free-hearted, liberal, magnanimous, munificent, noble, open-handed, open-hearted

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.1 / 8 votes

1. generous

   Antonyms:
   mean, ignoble, illiberal, selfish, churlish

   Synonyms:
   noble, chivalrous, liberal, disinterested, bountiful, magnanimous, open-hearted, munificent, honorable

Princeton’s WordNetRate these antonyms:3.0 / 2 votes

1. generousadjective

   willing to give and share unstintingly

   «a generous donation»

   Antonyms:
   niggardly, meager, cheap, meagerly, scrimpy, cheeseparing, near, hardfisted, tightfisted, skinny, stingy, close, scrimy, chinchy, tight, grudging, closefisted, mingy, ungenerous, penurious, penny-pinching, meagre, beggarly, parsimonious, mean, meanspirited, miserly, chintzy

2. generousadjective

   not petty in character and mind

   «unusually generous in his judgment of people»

   Antonyms:
   ungenerous, hardfisted, chintzy, stingy, mingy, near, chinchy, tight, meanspirited, meagre, penny-pinching, cheeseparing, cheap, tightfisted, scrimpy, parsimonious, closefisted, grudging, beggarly, close, meager, mean, niggardly, penurious, miserly, skinny, scrimy, meagerly

3. generousadjective

   more than adequate

   «a generous portion»

   Antonyms:
   mingy, mean, cheeseparing, stingy, tight, close, meager, ungenerous, penny-pinching, chinchy, meanspirited, scrimpy, closefisted, chintzy, cheap, hardfisted, skinny, parsimonious, near, miserly, tightfisted, scrimy, beggarly, penurious, niggardly, meagerly, grudging, meagre

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. generousadjective

   Antonyms:
   illiberal, ungenerous, stingy, scant, miserly, penurious

   Synonyms:
   magnanimous, noble, highminded, ingenuous, munificent, bountiful, open-handed, liberal, lavish, charitable, unstinted, abundant, plentiful, overflowing

How to use generous in a sentence?

1. Heidi Schoeneck:

   For me it was generous thing to do for my kid.

2. Jeremy Konyndyk:

   The U.S. has been the most generous donor in the world.

3. Catherine Birong:

   The children were getting antsy, and my mother — a funny and generous woman — gave them my dad’s military hats and medals and said, ‘Now go pretend you’re a soldier.’.

4. Ron Lieber:

   See how may things you can buy for under $20, or figure out the most fun you can create for under $20, if you put a cap on it that way, kids can be generous in spirit, without spending every cent they have.

5. William Powell:

   I was just trying to be generous, you’d be surprised how many people are on a really tight budget in Brooklyn.

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