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GENEROSITY
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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Acting generously
Synonyms:
generosity; unselfishness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("generosity" is a kind of...):
share-out; sharing (a distribution in shares)
Derivation:
generous (willing to give and share unstintingly)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The trait of being willing to give your money or time
Synonyms:
generosity; generousness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("generosity" is a kind of...):
kindness (the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic)
Attribute:
generous (willing to give and share unstintingly)
stingy; ungenerous (unwilling to spend (money, time, resources, etc.))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "generosity"):
charitableness (generosity as manifested by practicing charity (as for the poor or unfortunate))
bounteousness; bounty (generosity evidenced by a willingness to give freely)
bigheartedness (the quality of being kind and generous)
liberality; liberalness (the trait of being generous in behavior and temperament)
unselfishness (the quality of not putting yourself first but being willing to give your time or money or effort etc. for others)
Antonym:
stinginess (a lack of generosity; a general unwillingness to part with money)
Derivation:
generous (not petty in character and mind)
Context examples:
The letter was written in an odd, upright hand and signed “Edward Hyde”: and it signified, briefly enough, that the writer’s benefactor, Dr. Jekyll, whom he had long so unworthily repaid for a thousand generosities, need labour under no alarm for his safety, as he had means of escape on which he placed a sure dependence.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
He replied, that, by the laws of the kingdom, I must be searched by two of his officers; that he knew this could not be done without my consent and assistance; and he had so good an opinion of my generosity and justice, as to trust their persons in my hands; that whatever they took from me, should be returned when I left the country, or paid for at the rate which I would set upon them.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
But the rain was also a mere trifle to Mrs Clay; she would hardly allow it even to drop at all, and her boots were so thick! much thicker than Miss Anne's; and, in short, her civility rendered her quite as anxious to be left to walk with Mr Elliot as Anne could be, and it was discussed between them with a generosity so polite and so determined, that the others were obliged to settle it for them; Miss Elliot maintaining that Mrs Clay had a little cold already, and Mr Elliot deciding on appeal, that his cousin Anne's boots were rather the thickest.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
As yet I looked upon crime as a distant evil, benevolence and generosity were ever present before me, inciting within me a desire to become an actor in the busy scene where so many admirable qualities were called forth and displayed.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
You have been the soul of generosity.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
You've a deal more principle and generosity and nobleness of character than I ever gave you credit for, Amy.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Elinor thought this generosity overstrained, considering her sister's youth, and urged the matter farther, but in vain; common sense, common care, common prudence, were all sunk in Mrs. Dashwood's romantic delicacy.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
She felt for Harriet, with pain and with contrition; but no flight of generosity run mad, opposing all that could be probable or reasonable, entered her brain.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
They began with many compliments upon my valour and generosity, invited me to that kingdom in the emperor their master’s name, and desired me to show them some proofs of my prodigious strength, of which they had heard so many wonders; wherein I readily obliged them, but shall not trouble the reader with the particulars.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
My dear Sir Thomas, I perfectly comprehend you, and do justice to the generosity and delicacy of your notions, which indeed are quite of a piece with your general conduct; and I entirely agree with you in the main as to the propriety of doing everything one could by way of providing for a child one had in a manner taken into one's own hands; and I am sure I should be the last person in the world to withhold my mite upon such an occasion.
(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)
