charitable
gb/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl/ us/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl/
B2
English
~ 9000
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B2
property
1
generous in helping people in need
Ready to give money, time, or help to people who need it or to good causes.
Usage pattern:
be charitable (to/toward [someone] / with [something])
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse "charitable" with "cheap" or "inexpensive" because both relate to money. "Charitable" always focuses on giving or helping; it does not describe low prices. Another mistake is using it as a noun (*a charitable*). The correct noun is "charity".
Synonyms
generous (Broader and more common; not limited to helping people in need or good causes.)
|
philanthropic (More formal; often used for large-scale giving or support of public causes.)
Antonyms
selfish (Describes someone who does not want to give or share with others.)
|
stingy (Informal; suggests someone is not willing to spend or give, even when they could.)
Collocations
charitable person
|charitable attitude
|charitable work
|charitable giving
|charitable to others
|charitable with his money
Themes
society
|ethics
|money
|daily_life
|relationships
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She has always been charitable, donating a part of her salary to local shelters.
- Many people become more charitable during the holiday season.
- His family is known for its charitable support of education and health projects.
- The company encourages employees to be charitable with their time by volunteering.
- Despite having little, he remained charitable toward those who had even less.
Learner examples
- My aunt is very charitable and helps poor families.
- They are charitable and often give money to sick children.
- He tries to be charitable by giving his old clothes to a shelter.
- The students were charitable and worked at the food bank.
- Her parents are charitable and like to help people in need.
adjective
B2
property
2
relating to or intended for a charity
Describing work, money, or groups that are part of a charity or made to help a charity.
Usage pattern:
[charitable + noun] (e.g., charitable organization, charitable donation)
Common mistake:
Learners may say *charity organization* or *charity company* when *charitable organization* is more natural in many contexts. Also, they sometimes think "charitable" here means "cheap"; it instead refers to the purpose or legal status of the group or money.
Synonyms
non-profit (Focuses on not making profit rather than on giving help; common in business and legal contexts.)
|
humanitarian (Emphasizes concern for human welfare; often used for aid work rather than legal status.)
Antonyms
for-profit (Describes organizations whose main goal is to make money, not to give it away.)
|
commercial (Focuses on business activity and making profit, the opposite of charitable activity.)
Collocations
charitable organization
|charitable foundation
|charitable donation
|charitable cause
|charitable status
|charitable trust
Themes
society
|law
|business
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The event raised over a million dollars for various charitable organizations.
- They set up a charitable foundation to support cancer research.
- All proceeds from the concert will go to charitable causes.
- The company received tax benefits because of its charitable status.
- She left most of her estate to several charitable trusts.
Learner examples
- He works for a charitable organization that helps children.
- We made a charitable donation to a hospital.
- The school had a charitable event to get money for new books.
- This is a charitable foundation that gives money to artists.
- The government gave the group charitable status.
adjective
C1
property
3
kind and forgiving in judgment
Not strict or harsh when you think about what someone did; trying to see the good side.
Usage pattern:
be charitable (about [something] / to/toward [someone])
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think this meaning still relates to money or donations. In this sense, "charitable" is about attitude or judgment, not about giving money. They may also overuse it where "kind" or "nice" would sound more natural in everyday speech.
Synonyms
lenient (Often used about punishment or rules; slightly more formal and neutral in tone.)
|
forgiving (Focuses more on letting go of anger, not necessarily on interpretation or criticism.)
Antonyms
harsh (Describes very severe or unkind judgment or criticism.)
|
critical (Suggests focusing on faults rather than being kind in judgment.)
Collocations
a charitable interpretation
|a charitable view
|be charitable toward
|less than charitable
|not very charitable
|charitable in his comments
Themes
emotions
|ethics
|communication
|relationships
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- To be charitable, we could say his performance was uneven rather than terrible.
- The review was surprisingly charitable, given how bad the movie was.
- Her comments were not very charitable toward her former boss.
- If we are being charitable, we might call it an honest mistake.
- He tried to take a more charitable view of their decision.
Learner examples
- The teacher was charitable and did not shout at the late student.
- Please be charitable and remember that he is very young.
- She gave a charitable answer and did not say anything bad about him.
- We should be charitable when we talk about other people’s problems.
- He was not charitable in his report and wrote many hard words.
adjective
literary
C2
property
4
showing Christian or religious love
Loving and kind to other people because of religious or spiritual beliefs, especially in Christianity.
Usage pattern:
be charitable (in a Christian/Christian spirit)
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize this sense is often religious or literary in tone and may sound old-fashioned in everyday conversation. In most modern, general contexts, the more common meanings are about giving to charity or being kind in judgment.
Synonyms
compassionate (Focuses on feeling and showing care for suffering, without a specific religious basis.)
|
Christian (In this context, stresses that the kindness is based on Christian teaching about love.)
Antonyms
unkind (General opposite, lacking kindness or love toward others.)
Collocations
charitable spirit
|charitable heart
|charitable deeds
|charitable virtues
Themes
religion
|ethics
|relationships
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The text urges believers to adopt a charitable spirit toward all people.
- She devoted her life to charitable deeds inspired by her faith.
- In his sermon, the pastor praised her charitable heart and quiet service.
Learner examples
- His religion teaches him to be charitable to everyone.
- She believes that a charitable heart is very important to God.
- The book speaks about living a charitable life.
- They see helping the poor as a charitable duty in their faith.
Grammar
Dictionary form
charitable
IPA
GB/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl/
US/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl/
Syllables & stress
char - it - able (3 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (char)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: charitable
Word family
Core family
charity
noun A2
charitably
adverb
Negative and opposite forms
uncharitable
adjective
uncharitably
adverb
Expressions
be charitable
1/bˈi t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl/
fixed phrase
choose to be kind or generous
To decide to act in a kind or generous way, especially when you think or speak about someone’s mistakes.
Examples
- Let’s be charitable and assume he simply forgot.
- If you’re feeling charitable, you might say the show was entertaining.
charitable cause
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl kˈɔz/
fixed phrase
issue that a charity supports
A problem or need that people give money or time to in order to help others.
Examples
- The concert was held to support a number of charitable causes.
- She prefers to give to environmental and animal-related charitable causes.
charitable event
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl ɪvˈɛnt/
fixed phrase
event held to raise money for charity
A party, show, race, or other activity that is done to get money or support for a charity.
Examples
- They organized a charitable event to raise funds for the shelter.
- The annual charitable event includes a marathon and a concert.
charitable foundation
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl faʊndˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
non-profit that gives grants
A big non-profit group that controls money and gives it to projects that help people.
Examples
- The charitable foundation awards scholarships to low-income students.
- He set up a charitable foundation in his parents' names.
charitable giving
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl ɡˈɪvɪŋ/
fixed phrase
the practice of giving to charity
The habit or practice of giving money or things to charities.
Examples
- The report shows that charitable giving increased during the pandemic.
- They encourage employees to include charitable giving in their financial plans.
charitable status
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl stˈætəs/
fixed phrase
formal
legal recognition as a charity
A legal position that shows a group is a charity and can get special tax rules.
Examples
- The group applied for charitable status to qualify for tax relief.
- Losing charitable status would seriously hurt the organization’s finances.
charitable trust
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl tɹˈʌst/
fixed phrase
formal
legal fund for charity purposes
A legal way to hold money or property so that it must be used to help people or good causes.
Examples
- They created a charitable trust to manage the donation over many years.
- The museum is supported by a long-standing charitable trust.
charitable work
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl wˈɚk/
fixed phrase
activities that help people in need
Work that helps poor or sick people, or other people in need, usually without pay.
Examples
- He has done a lot of charitable work in his community.
- Her charitable work includes running a free clinic for migrants.
charitable donation
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl doʊnˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
money or goods given to charity
Money or things you give to a charity or good cause, without getting anything back.
Examples
- All charitable donations are tax-deductible up to a certain limit.
- All charitable donations over a certain amount are tax-deductible.
- The company increased its charitable donations during the holiday season.
- They made a large charitable donation to support medical research.
- They rely on charitable donations to fund their programs for children.
charitable organization
1/t͡ʃˈɛɹɪtəbəl ˌɔɹɡənəzˈeɪʃən/
fixed phrase
non-profit group that gives help
An officially recognized group that does not work for profit and gives money or help to people in need or to good causes.
Examples
- They donated clothes to a charitable organization.
- She volunteers twice a week at a local charitable organization.
- Charitable organizations often depend on public support.
- Several charitable organizations joined together to respond to the disaster.