generous
- 1Willing to give and share unsparingly; showing a readiness to give more than is expected or needed, especially money.
A generous donor covered the entire cost of the new library wing.
She has always been generous with her time, mentoring new employees long after hours.
- 2Large or plentiful; more than ample in size, amount, or extent.
The recipe calls for a generous pinch of salt at the very end.
The jacket has a generous cut through the shoulders, so it fits over a sweater.
Similarample, large, liberal, plentiful, lavish
Oppositemeager, small, skimpy, scant
Note
The measuring sense is at home with portions: a generous helping, a generous mouthful, the generous scoops in Tayari Jones's An American Marriage (2018). Applied to a quantity, it says the amount errs toward too much, which is why recipes can use it as a loose instruction. Applied to bodies, as in his generous buttocks, it names size with a gentler word than large.
- 3Noble in behavior or actions; principled, kind, and magnanimous rather than petty.
In a generous gesture, the senator publicly credited her rival's work in passing the bill.
His generous reading of the critic's harsh review impressed everyone at the table.
Similarmagnanimous, gracious, charitable, noble, kind
Oppositepetty, mean, small-minded, uncharitable
Note
Here generosity is a matter of character rather than money. The word comes through Middle French genereux from Latin generōsus, "of noble birth", from genus, "race, stock", so the idea of noble lineage sits behind noble conduct. It attaches readily to words and judgments: generous words, a generous reading, a generous gesture toward a rival. Contrast the giving sense, where something is actually handed over.
- 4Invigorating in nature; warming and strengthening to the body or spirits.
He praised the generous burgundy, claiming it had restored him after the long ride.
The cordial proved generous, reviving the weary travelers within minutes.
Similarinvigorating, restorative, rich, strong
Less common meaning
- 5Of noble birth; descended from an aristocratic family.
The herald confirmed that the stranger was generous, sprung from one of the oldest houses in the realm.
Though poor, the family remained generous in blood, tracing its line to ancient earls.
Note
This meaning is no longer in use. It is the one closest to the Latin source described under the "noble in conduct" sense. Readers who meet it in older texts should take it as a statement about lineage, not about kindness or money. In new writing, choose high-born or well-born instead, because a "generous family" will now be read as one that gives freely.
Practice
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Origin
English took this from Middle French genereux, which came from Latin generōsus ("of noble birth"). That Latin word derived from genus, meaning "race" or "stock."