|benə|fishəl adjective
Etymology: benefice (in obsolete sense “advantage, benefit”) + -ial
1. : conferring benefits : contributing to a good end : helpful , advantageous
beneficial animals
a beneficial organization
beneficial effects
— often used with to
moist, cool summers, which are not beneficial to such crops as maize — P.E.James
2. : receiving or entitling one to have or receive in one's own right and for one's own benefit an advantage, use, or benefit that need not be monetary
the beneficial owner of securities
a beneficial interest in an estate
— see cestui que trust ; compare trustee
Synonyms:
advantageous , profitable : beneficial , the most general of the three words, may describe anything conducive to well-being, especially to personal health and feeling and to social welfare
only his daughter had the power of charming this black brooding from his mind … the touch of her hand had a strong beneficial influence with him almost always — Charles Dickens
the relative ability of individuals and public bodies to make a beneficial use of the money — J.A.Hobson
advantageous stresses a choice or preference for the thing referred to over something else or over its lack or absence
primitive rules of moral action … are all more or less advantageous and helpful on the road of primitive life — Havelock Ellis
the republican government found it to be very advantageous to pay its troops promptly, for thereby a discipline was secured that surprised the Spaniards — J.L.Motley
profitable suggests a pleasing return or remuneration in matters financial or in matters of education and character development
the war boom demonstrated positively that mass production and distribution in books are both feasible and highly profitable — J.T.Farrell
give … yourselves to profitable meditation at home — Robert Browning