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benign

/bɪˈnaɪn//bɪˈnaɪn/·adjective
gentle and harmless; (of a growth) not dangerous
Fig. 1 — Out of the dark a horned thing rears up with two burning eyes, and every nerve I have votes to leave.
01Definition

Benign means harmless, and often kindly with it. A benign climate does you no harm; a benign ruler governs gently; a benign smile reassures. In medicine the word has a precise, high-stakes sense — a benign tumour is one that will not spread or turn deadly, the word every patient hopes to hear. Across all its uses the core is the same: something that could have been threatening turns out to do no damage. Its opposite, malignant, is the harm that does spread.

02In use
  • iThe biopsy was a relief: the growth was benign and showed no tendency to proliferate.
  • iiWhat the villagers had feared as a curse proved entirely benign, and the panic soon began to abate.
  • iiiUnder his benign supervision, even nervous beginners felt safe enough to experiment.
03Collocations
  • a benign tumour
  • a benign climate
  • benign neglect
  • a benign influence
  • relatively benign

Family benignly (adverb) · benignity (noun)

04Relations

=harmless, gentle, mild, innocuous, kindly, benevolent

≠malignant, harmful, hostile

05Compared
PairThe difference
benign vs benevolentactively wishing and doing good → benevolent; simply not harmful → benign.
06TOEFL & IELTS

Two registers to keep straight. In TOEFL science and biology passages it is technical ('benign vs malignant'). In general English it means harmless or kindly. The phrase 'benign neglect' (leaving something alone, to good effect) is a sophisticated touch in Writing. Pronounce it /bɪˈnaɪn/ — the g is silent. Don't confuse it with benevolent, which is about active goodwill rather than mere harmlessness.

07Asked
What does benign mean in medicine?
In clinical use, benign describes a growth that does not invade surrounding tissue or spread elsewhere in the body — the defining contrast with malignant, which does both. A benign tumour can still need monitoring or removal because of its size or position, so the word marks how a growth behaves, not whether it can be ignored.
How do you pronounce benign?
Bih-NINE (/bɪˈnaɪn/) — the g is completely silent, as in sign and design. The twist worth knowing: the g comes back to life in the noun benignity (bih-NIG-nih-tee) and in malignant, its opposite. One family, two treatments of the same letter — a small showcase of English spelling's habits.
What does 'benign neglect' mean?
Deliberately leaving something alone in the belief that intervention would do more harm — a policy of helpful inaction. The phrase was propelled into English by a 1970 memo from US adviser Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and it survived the controversy around it precisely because the paradox is so useful: neglect, doing good.
Is benign only a medical word?
No — the general senses came first: a benign climate does no harm, a benign smile means well, a benign ruler governs gently. The scene above plays the word's everyday logic: a horned silhouette shrinks under the light into a rabbit, which gives one unbothered hop — the threat was in the shadow, not the thing.
What is the opposite of benign?
In medicine, malignant — the growth that spreads. In general use, harmful, hostile or menacing, and for the kindly shade of benign, malign: 'a malign influence' wishes harm as surely as a benign one wishes none. Latin bene and male sit under the whole family, sorting it into well- and ill-meaning halves.
What is the difference between benign and benevolent?
One line: benign does no harm; benevolent actively does good — a lower and a higher bar. A benign lump does nothing; a benevolent fund does something. The fuller contrast, with both animated scenes, is on the benevolent vs benign page linked in the 'Compared' list above.