eleemosynary

el·ee·mo·sy·nary

adj
\ˌe-li-ˈmä-sə-ˌner-ē, -ˈmō-; -ˈmä-zə-\

Definition of ELEEMOSYNARY

: of, relating to, or supported by charity

Examples of ELEEMOSYNARY

1. <used his vast fortune for establishing and funding a host of eleemosynary institutions>

Origin of ELEEMOSYNARY

Medieval Latin eleemosynarius, from Late Latin eleemosyna alms — more at alms

First Known Use: circa 1616

Related to ELEEMOSYNARY

Synonyms: altruistic, beneficent, benevolent, do-good, charitable, good, humanitarian, philanthropic (also philanthropical)

Antonyms: self-centered, self-concerned, selfish

Related Words: selfless, self-sacrificing; bighearted, bounteous, bountiful, free, freehanded, generous, greathearted, handsome, liberal, magnanimous, munificent, openhanded, openhearted, unselfish, unsparing; compassionate, humane, kind, kindhearted; social-minded

Near Antonyms: self-indulgent, self-seeking; cheap, closefisted, miserly, niggardly, parsimonious, stingy, tight, tightfisted; hard-hearted, pitiless, unfeeling; self-obsessed

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Rhymes with ELEEMOSYNARY

beneficiary, devolutionary, evidentiary, evolutionary, extraliterary, insurrectionary, intermediary, paramilitary, penitentiary, quatercentenary, revolutionary, sesquicentenary, supernumerary, valetudinary