Dictionary

philanthropist en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree English philanthropy Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist English philanthropist From philanthropy + -ist; compare French philanthrope.

Meanings

1. A person who loves humankind in general.
2. A person or institution who seeks to improve the world, especially by monetary gifts.
   • It is not uncommon for young philanthropists to retool their giving as they learn from their mistakes. Many other charities have only a single focus. But it has been jarring to allies of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to see such a wholesale discarding and downplaying of its prior work, especially given how public it had been about its goals. 2025 June 28, Theodore Schleifer, Eli Tan, Mike Isaac, “Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan Narrow CZI’s Focus to Science Efforts”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 30 Jun 2025:
   • […]and with a passing vague wonder as to what manner of man the ‘philanthropist’ might be who had more money than he knew what to do with,[…] 1895, Marie Corelli, The Sorrows of Satan: or The Strange Experience of One Geoffrey Tempest, Millionaire […], 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, published 1896, →OCLC, page 15:
   • Sir Allen Stanford - the Texan billionaire who landed his Trojan helicopter at Lord's cricket ground and emerged with crates of cash - has turned out not to be the exquisitely cultured philanthropist his every action hitherto had indicated. […] Of Stanford himself, an Antiguan neighbour once remarked to this newspaper: "He is either one of the world's greatest philanthropists or one of its biggest crooks." 2009 February 21, Marina Hyde, “Thanks for the philanthropy, billionaires. Now pay your tax”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2023:
   • He was a noted philanthropist, and played a public-spirited part in the support of the Army during the Crimean War. 1960 March 14, N. Caplan, “The Railway Member of Parliament”, in Railway Magazine, page 209:

Forms

Antonyms

misanthropist

Deriveds

technophilanthropist · fauxlanthropist · theophilanthropist · philanthropistic · philanthropreneur · philanthropath

Relateds

philogyny · philanthropic · misanthropist · philandry · misanthropy · philanthropy · misandry · misogyny · altruist · altruism · misanthropic

Translations (69)

sh filàntrop (person who loves mankind) · pl filantrop (person who seeks to improve the world) · gl filántropo (person who loves mankind) · fr philanthrope (person who loves mankind) · gl filántropa (person who loves mankind) · sh filàntrop (person who seeks to improve the world) · vo menijilöfan (person who loves mankind) · af filantroop (person who loves mankind) · hu filantróp (person who loves mankind) · yi בעל־צדקה (person who seeks to improve the world) · tr filantrop (person who loves mankind) · pl filantropka (person who loves mankind) · he בעל צדקה (person who seeks to improve the world) · de Menschenfreund (person who loves mankind) · vo menilöfan (person who loves mankind) · ca filantrop (person who seeks to improve the world) · fi filantrooppi (person who loves mankind) · ta வள்ளல் (person who seeks to improve the world) · ru филантро́п (person who loves mankind) · pl filantropka (person who seeks to improve the world) · be філантропка (person who loves mankind) · eo filantropo (person who seeks to improve the world) · de Menschenfreundin (person who loves mankind) · sv filantrop (person who loves mankind) · fi filantrooppi (person who seeks to improve the world) · uk філантро́п (person who seeks to improve the world) · sk ľudomil (person who loves mankind) · be філантроп (person who loves mankind) · af filantroop (person who seeks to improve the world) · uk чоловіколю́б (person who loves mankind) · sv filantrop (person who seeks to improve the world) · he נַדְבָן (person who seeks to improve the world) · fr philanthrope (person who seeks to improve the world) · bg човеколюбец (person who loves mankind) · lad sadikero (person who seeks to improve the world) · bg филантроп (person who loves mankind) · ca filantrop (person who loves mankind) · mk човекољубец (person who loves mankind) · de Philanthropin (person who loves mankind) · it filantropo (person who loves mankind) · sh čovjekoljúbac (person who loves mankind) · el φιλάνθρωπος (person who seeks to improve the world) · gl filántropo (person who seeks to improve the world) · ru филантро́п (person who seeks to improve the world) · es filántropo (person who loves mankind) · hu emberbarát (person who loves mankind) · hu emberbarát (person who seeks to improve the world) · el φιλάνθρωπος (person who loves mankind) · oc filantròp (person who loves mankind) · de Philanthrop (person who loves mankind) · es filántropo (person who seeks to improve the world) · nl filantroop (person who loves mankind) · mk добротвор (person who seeks to improve the world) · sh filàntropkinja (person who seeks to improve the world) · vo menihilöfan (person who loves mankind) · pt filantropo (person who loves mankind) · hu filantróp (person who seeks to improve the world) · pl filantrop (person who loves mankind) · cs filantrop (person who seeks to improve the world) · yi פֿילאַנטראָפּ (person who seeks to improve the world) · it filantropo (person who seeks to improve the world) · gl filántropa (person who seeks to improve the world) · sh filàntropkinja (person who loves mankind) · tr filantrop (person who seeks to improve the world) · ar سَخِيّ (person who seeks to improve the world) · da filantrop (person who loves mankind) · cs lidumil (person who loves mankind) · uk людолю́б (person who loves mankind) · pt filantropo (person who seeks to improve the world)